http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Showing posts with label civil rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label civil rights. Show all posts
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Friday, August 03, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog-PRI Regains Mexican Presidency
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
**************
PRI Regains Mexican Presidency
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified)
04 Jul 2012
Mexico
PRI Regains Mexican Presidency
by Stephen Lendman
Like its northern neighbor, wealth and power dominate Mexican politics. Elections are notoriously tainted. Populist candidates are excluded. The late John Ross said Mexico perfected the art of electoral theft.
Longstanding problems fester. For millions, they're unbearable. They include extreme poverty, unemployment, underemployment, deep-seated private and public corruption, drug-related crime and violence, and political repression.
Beyond lip service, none of the candidates addressed them. Conditions are worse now than years earlier.
Sunday's election changed nothing. Privately, Nieto assured Washington that business as usual will continue.
On July 2, AP headlined "Mexican elections: PRI, former ruling party, voted back into office," saying:
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto "promis(ed) a government that will be modern, responsible and open to criticism."
A New York Times editorial headlined "Mexico Elects a New President," saying:
"Many voters clearly felt the need for change....Nieto has a chance to restore his party's reputation and do a lot of good for Mexico if he can deliver on his promises to make belated reforms, increase accountability and end the bloodshed."
The Times gave Nieto op-ed space. He headlined "Mexico's Next Chapter," saying:
His campaign "was about....improv(ing) economic conditions for millions of struggling Mexicans" and ending political polarization and paralysis.
He's committed to democracy, he said. Change no longer can be postponed, he claimed.
Mexicans know better. PRI's history reflects a shameful legacy of subordinating populist interests to predatory capitalism, the military, and bourgeoisie privilege.
Established in 1929, it emerged from the 1910 - 1917 Mexican Revolution. During the Great Depression, class harmony and nationalist slogans co-opted workers and campesinos. Class struggles were controlled.
Revolutionary change never came. Post-war strikes were brutally repressed. In the 1980s, greater integration into global markets occurred. A new billionaire class emerged.
Crisis conditions affected ordinary Mexicans. They still do. Farmers and small businesses went bankrupt. NAFTA drove millions north. Drug trafficking spawned violence. Thousands have been killed in recent years.
Elections don't change things. Washington and Mexico partner in criminality, repression, and militarized control.
James Petras calls "narco-finance....the most advanced stage of neo-liberalism. When the respectable become criminal, the criminals become respectable," he explains.
Like America, money power and imperial interests run Mexico. Ordinary people are entirely left out. Each electoral cycle, everything changes but stay the same. Nieto's election assures more of the same.
PRI leaders ran Mexico from 1929 - 2000. National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vincente Fox ended its 70 year rule in 2000. Both parties represent common interests. It hardly matters which one rules.
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ran a populist 2006 campaign. Thereafter, he shifted markedly right. Earlier he promised expanded social benefits. No longer. Mexico's power elite knows he safe.
Mexican-style democracy reflects America's. Wealth and power run both countries. Promised change won't come. Nieto's agenda reflects it. Neoliberalism's death grip assures punishing hard times for ordinary people at a time of protracted economic Depression.
Popular support for Nieto was unimpressive. With most returns counted, Reuters said his margin was 37.6% over PRD's Obrador 32.2% and PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota's 25.4%.
New Alliance Party's (PANAL) Gabriel Quadri got 2.3%. Another 2.4% of ballots were declared invalid. Turnout was about 62%.
From 2005 - 2011, Nieto served as State of Mexico governor. Critics call him a product created by Mexico's TV giants. He's a proxy for the country's biggest businesses and ruling elites.
"He's been imposed on us by powerful interests like the (corporate owned) TV stations and old presidents," said biochemist Javier Aguilar. "How can it be that a country this miserable is home to the world's richest man."
He referred to business tycoon Carlos Slim. Other billionaires, major banks, and corporate giants run Mexico. They replicate business interests in America and other Western countries.
Other critics called PRI's return to power a major setback. University students staged opposition marches in the final weeks of Nieto's campaign. They expressed no faith in his promises.
He's also dogged by accusations that he overspent his $330 million campaign funding limit and got favorable Mexican corporate media coverage.
A London Guardian expose headlined "Spotlight falls on Televisa, Mexico's all-powerful TV station," saying:
Historian Andrew Paxman called Televisa "like Murdoch on steroids in the sense (it) has operated under far fewer constraints...."
"The company's alleged use - abuse, say critics - of programming for political and commercial ends has become an explosive issue in Sunday's election."
"....Nieto, has been thrown on the defensive over evidence uncovered by the Guardian detailing his links to Televisa, whose channels account for about two thirds of free-to-air television. Its rival, Azteca, accounts for most of the other third."
Concentrated television ownership threatens democracy, said former under-secretary of communications Purificacion Carpinteyro. "It gives them enormous power to extort....because nobody wants to be insulted or rubbed out or (negatively) exhibited on TV."
WikiLeaks cables helped expose the corrupt Televisa/Nieto relationship. One explained how the network gave him "extraordinary amounts of airtime and other kinds of (favorable) coverage."
Televisa maintained close ties to PRI for decades. Like US television giants, it supports wealth and power interests.
Voters also elected 300 Mexican lower house Chamber of Deputies members and 168 senators. Governors were chosen in six states, and Mexico City got a new mayor. PRI candidates appear to have won control of the nation's Congress.
PRD candidate Obrador questioned election results. He claimed pollsters manipulated pre-election surveys. His supporters also questioned electoral fairness.
Fraud is endemic in Mexican politics. In 2006, vote totals were falsified for current President Felipe Calderon. Millions of ballots weren't counted. Around 900,000 were declared void, blank, annulled and discarded.
Obrador won. Calderon's brother-in-law, Diego Hildebrando Zavala, designed the vote-counting software.
Mexico City mayor-elect Marcelo Ebrard said, "There is now so much evidence of fraud that the court will have to act." Nothing followed. Calderon took office.
He acknowledged Nieto's victory. He and Obama congratulated him. A White House Office of the Press Secretary release said:
"Today the President called Enrique Peña Nieto, President-elect of Mexico, to congratulate him on his victory based on the initial results issued by Mexico’s electoral authorities."
"The two leaders reaffirmed the close bilateral partnership the United States and Mexico enjoy based on mutual respect, shared responsibility, and the deep connections between our people."
"The President reiterated his commitment to working in partnership with Mexico, and looks forward to advancing common goals, including promoting democracy, economic prosperity, and security in the region and around the globe, in the coming years."
"The President also congratulated the Mexican people who have once again demonstrated their commitment to democratic values through a free, fair, and transparent election process."
Obama acknowledged that Mexico is safe in his hands. Money power keeps control. The worst of what harms ordinary Mexicans will continue. Dire economic conditions assures hard times getting harder.
Mexico's history reflects revolutionary outbursts every 100 years or so. In 1810 and 1910 they erupted. Perhaps another is due any time.
In 1910, Francisco Madero triggered what Emiliano Zapata Salazar led. His supporters were called Zapatistas.
Mexicans wondered if Subcommandante Marcos was his modern incarnation. Their hopes remain unfulfilled. Indigenous struggles continue. Beneficial social change is long overdue.
The only solution is world revolution. The best way to beat organized money is with organized people. Famed Chicago community organizer Saul Alinsky (1909 - 1972) explained.
Change depends on taking to the streets, striking, boycotting, challenging authority, disrupting business, and sustaining grassroots efforts for change.
There is no other way. Throwing the bums out for more of the same fails every time.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
**************
PRI Regains Mexican Presidency
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified)
04 Jul 2012
Mexico
PRI Regains Mexican Presidency
by Stephen Lendman
Like its northern neighbor, wealth and power dominate Mexican politics. Elections are notoriously tainted. Populist candidates are excluded. The late John Ross said Mexico perfected the art of electoral theft.
Longstanding problems fester. For millions, they're unbearable. They include extreme poverty, unemployment, underemployment, deep-seated private and public corruption, drug-related crime and violence, and political repression.
Beyond lip service, none of the candidates addressed them. Conditions are worse now than years earlier.
Sunday's election changed nothing. Privately, Nieto assured Washington that business as usual will continue.
On July 2, AP headlined "Mexican elections: PRI, former ruling party, voted back into office," saying:
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto "promis(ed) a government that will be modern, responsible and open to criticism."
A New York Times editorial headlined "Mexico Elects a New President," saying:
"Many voters clearly felt the need for change....Nieto has a chance to restore his party's reputation and do a lot of good for Mexico if he can deliver on his promises to make belated reforms, increase accountability and end the bloodshed."
The Times gave Nieto op-ed space. He headlined "Mexico's Next Chapter," saying:
His campaign "was about....improv(ing) economic conditions for millions of struggling Mexicans" and ending political polarization and paralysis.
He's committed to democracy, he said. Change no longer can be postponed, he claimed.
Mexicans know better. PRI's history reflects a shameful legacy of subordinating populist interests to predatory capitalism, the military, and bourgeoisie privilege.
Established in 1929, it emerged from the 1910 - 1917 Mexican Revolution. During the Great Depression, class harmony and nationalist slogans co-opted workers and campesinos. Class struggles were controlled.
Revolutionary change never came. Post-war strikes were brutally repressed. In the 1980s, greater integration into global markets occurred. A new billionaire class emerged.
Crisis conditions affected ordinary Mexicans. They still do. Farmers and small businesses went bankrupt. NAFTA drove millions north. Drug trafficking spawned violence. Thousands have been killed in recent years.
Elections don't change things. Washington and Mexico partner in criminality, repression, and militarized control.
James Petras calls "narco-finance....the most advanced stage of neo-liberalism. When the respectable become criminal, the criminals become respectable," he explains.
Like America, money power and imperial interests run Mexico. Ordinary people are entirely left out. Each electoral cycle, everything changes but stay the same. Nieto's election assures more of the same.
PRI leaders ran Mexico from 1929 - 2000. National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vincente Fox ended its 70 year rule in 2000. Both parties represent common interests. It hardly matters which one rules.
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ran a populist 2006 campaign. Thereafter, he shifted markedly right. Earlier he promised expanded social benefits. No longer. Mexico's power elite knows he safe.
Mexican-style democracy reflects America's. Wealth and power run both countries. Promised change won't come. Nieto's agenda reflects it. Neoliberalism's death grip assures punishing hard times for ordinary people at a time of protracted economic Depression.
Popular support for Nieto was unimpressive. With most returns counted, Reuters said his margin was 37.6% over PRD's Obrador 32.2% and PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota's 25.4%.
New Alliance Party's (PANAL) Gabriel Quadri got 2.3%. Another 2.4% of ballots were declared invalid. Turnout was about 62%.
From 2005 - 2011, Nieto served as State of Mexico governor. Critics call him a product created by Mexico's TV giants. He's a proxy for the country's biggest businesses and ruling elites.
"He's been imposed on us by powerful interests like the (corporate owned) TV stations and old presidents," said biochemist Javier Aguilar. "How can it be that a country this miserable is home to the world's richest man."
He referred to business tycoon Carlos Slim. Other billionaires, major banks, and corporate giants run Mexico. They replicate business interests in America and other Western countries.
Other critics called PRI's return to power a major setback. University students staged opposition marches in the final weeks of Nieto's campaign. They expressed no faith in his promises.
He's also dogged by accusations that he overspent his $330 million campaign funding limit and got favorable Mexican corporate media coverage.
A London Guardian expose headlined "Spotlight falls on Televisa, Mexico's all-powerful TV station," saying:
Historian Andrew Paxman called Televisa "like Murdoch on steroids in the sense (it) has operated under far fewer constraints...."
"The company's alleged use - abuse, say critics - of programming for political and commercial ends has become an explosive issue in Sunday's election."
"....Nieto, has been thrown on the defensive over evidence uncovered by the Guardian detailing his links to Televisa, whose channels account for about two thirds of free-to-air television. Its rival, Azteca, accounts for most of the other third."
Concentrated television ownership threatens democracy, said former under-secretary of communications Purificacion Carpinteyro. "It gives them enormous power to extort....because nobody wants to be insulted or rubbed out or (negatively) exhibited on TV."
WikiLeaks cables helped expose the corrupt Televisa/Nieto relationship. One explained how the network gave him "extraordinary amounts of airtime and other kinds of (favorable) coverage."
Televisa maintained close ties to PRI for decades. Like US television giants, it supports wealth and power interests.
Voters also elected 300 Mexican lower house Chamber of Deputies members and 168 senators. Governors were chosen in six states, and Mexico City got a new mayor. PRI candidates appear to have won control of the nation's Congress.
PRD candidate Obrador questioned election results. He claimed pollsters manipulated pre-election surveys. His supporters also questioned electoral fairness.
Fraud is endemic in Mexican politics. In 2006, vote totals were falsified for current President Felipe Calderon. Millions of ballots weren't counted. Around 900,000 were declared void, blank, annulled and discarded.
Obrador won. Calderon's brother-in-law, Diego Hildebrando Zavala, designed the vote-counting software.
Mexico City mayor-elect Marcelo Ebrard said, "There is now so much evidence of fraud that the court will have to act." Nothing followed. Calderon took office.
He acknowledged Nieto's victory. He and Obama congratulated him. A White House Office of the Press Secretary release said:
"Today the President called Enrique Peña Nieto, President-elect of Mexico, to congratulate him on his victory based on the initial results issued by Mexico’s electoral authorities."
"The two leaders reaffirmed the close bilateral partnership the United States and Mexico enjoy based on mutual respect, shared responsibility, and the deep connections between our people."
"The President reiterated his commitment to working in partnership with Mexico, and looks forward to advancing common goals, including promoting democracy, economic prosperity, and security in the region and around the globe, in the coming years."
"The President also congratulated the Mexican people who have once again demonstrated their commitment to democratic values through a free, fair, and transparent election process."
Obama acknowledged that Mexico is safe in his hands. Money power keeps control. The worst of what harms ordinary Mexicans will continue. Dire economic conditions assures hard times getting harder.
Mexico's history reflects revolutionary outbursts every 100 years or so. In 1810 and 1910 they erupted. Perhaps another is due any time.
In 1910, Francisco Madero triggered what Emiliano Zapata Salazar led. His supporters were called Zapatistas.
Mexicans wondered if Subcommandante Marcos was his modern incarnation. Their hopes remain unfulfilled. Indigenous struggles continue. Beneficial social change is long overdue.
The only solution is world revolution. The best way to beat organized money is with organized people. Famed Chicago community organizer Saul Alinsky (1909 - 1972) explained.
Change depends on taking to the streets, striking, boycotting, challenging authority, disrupting business, and sustaining grassroots efforts for change.
There is no other way. Throwing the bums out for more of the same fails every time.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
Monday, May 21, 2012
Chicago Under Siege -Hands Off Anti-NATO Protesters- Drop All Charges Against The Protesters!-Down With NATO!
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
**********
Chicago Under Siege
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified)
21 May 2012
anti-war
Chicago Under Siege
by Stephen Lendman
NATO arrives everywhere violently. Chicago was no exception. During summit activities, city cops are enforcers. They specialize in serving wealth, power, and imperial interests.
Their guerrilla warfare history is notorious. They're reliable state terror partners.
Their tactics include no-holds barred surveillance, vigilantism, and brutality. They're infamous for physical confrontation, flagrant abuse, and criminal assaults.
From 2002 - 2004 alone, over 10,000 complaints were lodged. Many involve violence, brutality, even torture and murder. Only 18 disciplinary actions followed.
University of Chicago Law Professor Craig Futterman heads its Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP). It's one of America's leading civil rights initiatives.
It focuses on criminal justice issues. Its aim is improving police accountability and the nation's criminal justice system. It faces long odds as America grows more repressive. Police behavior during Chicago's NATO summit is Exhibit A. More on that below.
In 2007, Futterman helped prepare a report titled "The Chicago Police Department's Broken System." It revealed damning evidence of systemic brutality, illegal searches, false arrests, racial targeting, sexual assaults, shoddy investigations, a culture of silence, and apartheid justice.
Disadvantaged Blacks, Latinos, poor, and street demonstrators are most affected.
It called Chicago police a "regime of not knowing." They even get away with murder because of "a deep commitment to the machinery of denial." A culture of silence is encouraged and enforced.
Chicago mayors, City Councilmen and women, along with top police officials share culpability. Main report findings, included:
• compared to other large cities, excessive force complaints are 94% less likely to be sustained by top Chicago Police Department (CPD) officials;
• in over 85% of cases, accused officers aren't even interviewed, except for a brief form report;
• repeat offenders account for most abuses; and
• top officials are most responsible for cultivating and supporting a violence-prone system.
The Chicago Justice Project (CJP) independently evaluates city criminal justice agencies. Its purpose is promoting reform and accountability.
In October 2009, it published a 10-year analysis of Chicago Police Board (CPB) cases and decisions. It examined charges filed and rulings. It covered the period January 1999 - December 2008.
It found a "startling difference in outcomes experienced between civilian employees and sworn officers." Disciplinary action against police offenders is lax and undisciplined. Few are punished. Brutality is whitewashed. Serious flaws remain uncorrected. Justice is denied.
In April 2012, CJP reported a "very sad reality." Most police violence complaints are denied. Chicagoans "continue to be frustrated with" unaccountable practices.
Systemic issues remain uncorrected. City officials come and go. Abuses continue. Accountability mechanisms exist but aren't enforced. "The reality is that (for) most types of misconduct....there is little to no way to prove definitive guilt" because no one with authority wants to hear it.
Abusive behavior is incentivized to continue. Justice is systematically denied. No significant change occurred since the 1960 Chicago Police Board's creation. Its nine mayoral appointed members oversea CPD practices. Instead of serving responsibly, it systematically whitewashes abuses.
On May 9, CJP headlined "NATO & All the Unanswered Questions," saying:
Ahead of NATO's arrival, little attention was paid to likely police tactics. Local media scoundrels ignored serious unanswered questions. "It seems like the Chicago press are not really interested unless they are taking it from a CPD press release."
CJP listed a menu of questions demanding answers. Most important are ones related to just treatment for nonviolent demonstrators while cops focus on serving NATO.
The fact that local media fell woefully short "is a scary proposition, especially when you consider the history of the CPD and at times their proclivity to misuse weapons" and commit systematic violence against ordinary Chicagoans with impunity.
Former Chicago alderman Paddy Bauler (1890 - 1977) explained best, saying:
"Chicago ain't ready for reform."
It's still not ready. It proves it daily on city streets. It serves and protects wealth and power. Ordinary Chicagoans are unprotected and abused. Police brutality victims know best. Their stories are chilling.
Systematic Police Violence
On May 20, the Chicago Tribune headlined "Police, protesters clash in Loop," saying:
Saturday, Chicago cops performed as expected. Violence is standard practice. Beatings and arrests followed "pushing and shoving confrontations."
A police van struck one protester. Someone screamed: "They hit him! They hit him!" An ambulance took "someone in a wheel chair" to a local hospital. Friends identified him as New York-based OWS activist Jack Amico.
Demonstrators marched and chanted nonviolently. Images showed riot-clad police swinging batons. Unknown numbers were arrested and detained. Official reports were deliberately vague.
Hotels domiciling heads of state and their entourages are heavily protected. Nothing is spared to serve them. "Asked how he was holding up, one protester (said): 'Exhausted.' "
Earlier Saturday, police and activists clashed downtown "when protesters tried to push through a line of police on bicycles. An officer went down." Other riot-clad ones moved in violently. Several arrests followed.
Each time marchers tried veering from where cops directed them, confrontations occurred. Thousands of police were everywhere downtown. They came riot-clad in groups, phalanxes, on bikes, horseback, squad cars, and overhead in helicopters.
Asked how far police would let protesters go, Deputy CPD Superintendent Debra Kirby said "(t)ill they tire out."
In fact, momentum increased. It continued all day through late evening. Number grew. Sunday may prove most daunting. Large protests and marches are planned.
Participants know what's ahead. They're struggling on two fronts - against NATO and Chicago cops protecting global menace participants. Why else would they brave notoriously violent police for ending wars and justice.
Media Scoundrel Reports
On May 19, The New York Times headlined "3 in Chicago Face Charges of Terrorism in Protests," saying:
"The People of the State of Illinois v. Brian Church, Jared Chase (and) Brent Betterly" alleged possession of incendiary devices, material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to commit it.
Charges are spurious. National Lawyers Guild (NLG) attorneys denounced them. Sarah Gelsomino "delore(d them) in the strongest degree." No evidence whatever proves them.
NLG's Michael Deutsch called them "propaganda to create a climate of fear and to create this public perception that protesters are violent."
The Times said defendants were targeted in early May. They and others were arrested "when police officers and FBI agents obtained a no-knock search warrant" to raid a South Side apartment.
NLG lawyers said police "broke down doors with guns drawn and searched residences without a warrant or consent."
According to The Times:
"The three defendants....assembled four Molotov cocktails from empty beer bottles, with cut bandannas as fuses."
They "were to be used in attacks against police stations, which would divert attention from other attacks around the city."
Official police and prosecutor accounts were cited. They're baseless without credibility. Charges are fabricated with no corroborating evidence. The pattern repeats constantly. As a result, many hundreds rot unjustly in America's gulag.
Yet The Times said "defendants also (planned) to buy several assault rifles and build a pipe bombs at the time of their arrests."
"Throwing stars, swords with brass-knuckle handles, a hunting bow, a shield with protruding nails, gas masks and a map with details of escape routes from the city were also said to have been found in the apartment."
Alleged targets were said to be Obama's local headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house, police stations, and downtown financial institutions.
All are well protected, especially leading up to, during, and for days after National Special Security Events. How three youths planned doing this wasn't explained. For attacks this elaborate, a battalion or more would be needed with plenty of backup.
Those charged are nonviolent activists. Bogus accusations called them "self-identified anarchists." State's attorney Anita Alvarez said:
"The individuals we charged are not peaceful protesters. They are domestic terrorists."
Another arrested but uncharged activist said:
"They raided my home illegally to intimidate us, and to stop us from doing the important stuff we were doing."
No one arrested planned terrorism or other violent acts. Nonetheless, the so-call NATO 3 face a harrowing ordeal ahead. Few charged with these type offenses end exonerated.
Even if found not guilty, new charges likely follow. When federal, state and local prosecutors want someone convicted, results usually turn out that way no matter how long it takes.
Sometimes one or more trials are protracted. Including appeals, resolution can take years. The cost burden is enormous. Proving innocence is daunting when government determines to convict.
A deplorable Chicago Tribune editorial headlined "The NATO 3," saying:
Police and prosecutors claim "three men who traveled to Chicago" came to commit "terrorism."
"So we bristled when" NLG attorney Gelsomino "said the arrests were part of 'an intimidation campaign on activists.' What intimidation campaign?"
Police claimed an "imminent threat." Baseless accusations don't square with facts. The editorial quoted CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy saying police "marching orders" were to "protect free speech (and) First Amendment rights...."
"Good call," it added in response to nonviolent activists charged with terrorism. They face long prison terms if convicted.
Federal, state and local authorities deplore free expression, assembly rights, and other constitutional freedoms. Chicago ones are notorious.
They proved it with warrantless break-ins, bogus charges, false arrests, baton swinging violence, other aggressive confrontations, and running down one activist with a van.
Perhaps they're saving their heaviest-handed tactics for Sunday when large rallies and marches are held. Low intensity conflict may follow throughout the day and evening.
Participants and downtown residents fear the worst. Our neighborhoods may become battlegrounds.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
**********
Chicago Under Siege
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified)
21 May 2012
anti-war
Chicago Under Siege
by Stephen Lendman
NATO arrives everywhere violently. Chicago was no exception. During summit activities, city cops are enforcers. They specialize in serving wealth, power, and imperial interests.
Their guerrilla warfare history is notorious. They're reliable state terror partners.
Their tactics include no-holds barred surveillance, vigilantism, and brutality. They're infamous for physical confrontation, flagrant abuse, and criminal assaults.
From 2002 - 2004 alone, over 10,000 complaints were lodged. Many involve violence, brutality, even torture and murder. Only 18 disciplinary actions followed.
University of Chicago Law Professor Craig Futterman heads its Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP). It's one of America's leading civil rights initiatives.
It focuses on criminal justice issues. Its aim is improving police accountability and the nation's criminal justice system. It faces long odds as America grows more repressive. Police behavior during Chicago's NATO summit is Exhibit A. More on that below.
In 2007, Futterman helped prepare a report titled "The Chicago Police Department's Broken System." It revealed damning evidence of systemic brutality, illegal searches, false arrests, racial targeting, sexual assaults, shoddy investigations, a culture of silence, and apartheid justice.
Disadvantaged Blacks, Latinos, poor, and street demonstrators are most affected.
It called Chicago police a "regime of not knowing." They even get away with murder because of "a deep commitment to the machinery of denial." A culture of silence is encouraged and enforced.
Chicago mayors, City Councilmen and women, along with top police officials share culpability. Main report findings, included:
• compared to other large cities, excessive force complaints are 94% less likely to be sustained by top Chicago Police Department (CPD) officials;
• in over 85% of cases, accused officers aren't even interviewed, except for a brief form report;
• repeat offenders account for most abuses; and
• top officials are most responsible for cultivating and supporting a violence-prone system.
The Chicago Justice Project (CJP) independently evaluates city criminal justice agencies. Its purpose is promoting reform and accountability.
In October 2009, it published a 10-year analysis of Chicago Police Board (CPB) cases and decisions. It examined charges filed and rulings. It covered the period January 1999 - December 2008.
It found a "startling difference in outcomes experienced between civilian employees and sworn officers." Disciplinary action against police offenders is lax and undisciplined. Few are punished. Brutality is whitewashed. Serious flaws remain uncorrected. Justice is denied.
In April 2012, CJP reported a "very sad reality." Most police violence complaints are denied. Chicagoans "continue to be frustrated with" unaccountable practices.
Systemic issues remain uncorrected. City officials come and go. Abuses continue. Accountability mechanisms exist but aren't enforced. "The reality is that (for) most types of misconduct....there is little to no way to prove definitive guilt" because no one with authority wants to hear it.
Abusive behavior is incentivized to continue. Justice is systematically denied. No significant change occurred since the 1960 Chicago Police Board's creation. Its nine mayoral appointed members oversea CPD practices. Instead of serving responsibly, it systematically whitewashes abuses.
On May 9, CJP headlined "NATO & All the Unanswered Questions," saying:
Ahead of NATO's arrival, little attention was paid to likely police tactics. Local media scoundrels ignored serious unanswered questions. "It seems like the Chicago press are not really interested unless they are taking it from a CPD press release."
CJP listed a menu of questions demanding answers. Most important are ones related to just treatment for nonviolent demonstrators while cops focus on serving NATO.
The fact that local media fell woefully short "is a scary proposition, especially when you consider the history of the CPD and at times their proclivity to misuse weapons" and commit systematic violence against ordinary Chicagoans with impunity.
Former Chicago alderman Paddy Bauler (1890 - 1977) explained best, saying:
"Chicago ain't ready for reform."
It's still not ready. It proves it daily on city streets. It serves and protects wealth and power. Ordinary Chicagoans are unprotected and abused. Police brutality victims know best. Their stories are chilling.
Systematic Police Violence
On May 20, the Chicago Tribune headlined "Police, protesters clash in Loop," saying:
Saturday, Chicago cops performed as expected. Violence is standard practice. Beatings and arrests followed "pushing and shoving confrontations."
A police van struck one protester. Someone screamed: "They hit him! They hit him!" An ambulance took "someone in a wheel chair" to a local hospital. Friends identified him as New York-based OWS activist Jack Amico.
Demonstrators marched and chanted nonviolently. Images showed riot-clad police swinging batons. Unknown numbers were arrested and detained. Official reports were deliberately vague.
Hotels domiciling heads of state and their entourages are heavily protected. Nothing is spared to serve them. "Asked how he was holding up, one protester (said): 'Exhausted.' "
Earlier Saturday, police and activists clashed downtown "when protesters tried to push through a line of police on bicycles. An officer went down." Other riot-clad ones moved in violently. Several arrests followed.
Each time marchers tried veering from where cops directed them, confrontations occurred. Thousands of police were everywhere downtown. They came riot-clad in groups, phalanxes, on bikes, horseback, squad cars, and overhead in helicopters.
Asked how far police would let protesters go, Deputy CPD Superintendent Debra Kirby said "(t)ill they tire out."
In fact, momentum increased. It continued all day through late evening. Number grew. Sunday may prove most daunting. Large protests and marches are planned.
Participants know what's ahead. They're struggling on two fronts - against NATO and Chicago cops protecting global menace participants. Why else would they brave notoriously violent police for ending wars and justice.
Media Scoundrel Reports
On May 19, The New York Times headlined "3 in Chicago Face Charges of Terrorism in Protests," saying:
"The People of the State of Illinois v. Brian Church, Jared Chase (and) Brent Betterly" alleged possession of incendiary devices, material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to commit it.
Charges are spurious. National Lawyers Guild (NLG) attorneys denounced them. Sarah Gelsomino "delore(d them) in the strongest degree." No evidence whatever proves them.
NLG's Michael Deutsch called them "propaganda to create a climate of fear and to create this public perception that protesters are violent."
The Times said defendants were targeted in early May. They and others were arrested "when police officers and FBI agents obtained a no-knock search warrant" to raid a South Side apartment.
NLG lawyers said police "broke down doors with guns drawn and searched residences without a warrant or consent."
According to The Times:
"The three defendants....assembled four Molotov cocktails from empty beer bottles, with cut bandannas as fuses."
They "were to be used in attacks against police stations, which would divert attention from other attacks around the city."
Official police and prosecutor accounts were cited. They're baseless without credibility. Charges are fabricated with no corroborating evidence. The pattern repeats constantly. As a result, many hundreds rot unjustly in America's gulag.
Yet The Times said "defendants also (planned) to buy several assault rifles and build a pipe bombs at the time of their arrests."
"Throwing stars, swords with brass-knuckle handles, a hunting bow, a shield with protruding nails, gas masks and a map with details of escape routes from the city were also said to have been found in the apartment."
Alleged targets were said to be Obama's local headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house, police stations, and downtown financial institutions.
All are well protected, especially leading up to, during, and for days after National Special Security Events. How three youths planned doing this wasn't explained. For attacks this elaborate, a battalion or more would be needed with plenty of backup.
Those charged are nonviolent activists. Bogus accusations called them "self-identified anarchists." State's attorney Anita Alvarez said:
"The individuals we charged are not peaceful protesters. They are domestic terrorists."
Another arrested but uncharged activist said:
"They raided my home illegally to intimidate us, and to stop us from doing the important stuff we were doing."
No one arrested planned terrorism or other violent acts. Nonetheless, the so-call NATO 3 face a harrowing ordeal ahead. Few charged with these type offenses end exonerated.
Even if found not guilty, new charges likely follow. When federal, state and local prosecutors want someone convicted, results usually turn out that way no matter how long it takes.
Sometimes one or more trials are protracted. Including appeals, resolution can take years. The cost burden is enormous. Proving innocence is daunting when government determines to convict.
A deplorable Chicago Tribune editorial headlined "The NATO 3," saying:
Police and prosecutors claim "three men who traveled to Chicago" came to commit "terrorism."
"So we bristled when" NLG attorney Gelsomino "said the arrests were part of 'an intimidation campaign on activists.' What intimidation campaign?"
Police claimed an "imminent threat." Baseless accusations don't square with facts. The editorial quoted CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy saying police "marching orders" were to "protect free speech (and) First Amendment rights...."
"Good call," it added in response to nonviolent activists charged with terrorism. They face long prison terms if convicted.
Federal, state and local authorities deplore free expression, assembly rights, and other constitutional freedoms. Chicago ones are notorious.
They proved it with warrantless break-ins, bogus charges, false arrests, baton swinging violence, other aggressive confrontations, and running down one activist with a van.
Perhaps they're saving their heaviest-handed tactics for Sunday when large rallies and marches are held. Low intensity conflict may follow throughout the day and evening.
Participants and downtown residents fear the worst. Our neighborhoods may become battlegrounds.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
****************
America's War on Afghanistan
America's Afghanistan Legacy
by Stephen Lendman
In his book titled, "Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Empire," John Pilger discussed Afghanistan, saying:
"Through all the humanitarian crises in living memory, no country has been abused and suffered more, and none has been helped less than Afghanistan."
He described what looked more like a moonscape than a functioning nation. In Kabul, "contours of rubble rather than streets (exist), where people live in collapsed buildings, like earthquake victims waiting for rescue....(with) no light or heat."
If hell on earth exists, it's headquartered in Afghanistan, but has many global affiliate locations.
Afghanistan's Troubled History: A Brief Account
It goes back centuries since before Alexander the Great. Afghans endured what few can imagine. Marauding armies besieged cities, slaughtered thousands, and caused vast destruction.
In the 19th century, imperial Britain and Czarist Russia intervened. "Great Game" struggles followed. Wars, devastation and deep poverty resulted.
Until 1919, Afghanistan was a UK protectorate. After Czarist Russia fell, King Amanullah declared his country's independence. At the same time, he signed an aid and friendship treaty with Lenin and fought Britain.
Border skirmishes followed. Kabul was bombed. Finally London gave it up and quit, but conspired with anti Amanullah elements against him. As a result, he abdicated in 1929. Warlords contended for power.
King Muhammad Nadir Shah took over. Four years later he was assassinated. Muhammad Zahir Shah replaced him. As Afghanistan's last king, he ruled autocratically for 40 years.
In 1973, he was ousted and a republic declared. However, little changed under family member Daoud Khan as president. In 1978, a military coup removed him. In 1979, Soviet Russia invaded. Moscow put Babrak Karmal in charge, then Mohammad Najubullah in 1987. He lasted until 1992.
In the 1980s, US recruited mujahideen fighters battled Soviet occupiers. In 1989 they left, but a ravaged country remained.
Civil war followed. Then came 9/11, America's attack, invasion, occupation, millions of deaths, further destruction, and continued horrific human suffering to this day.
Pilger quoted the CIA once calling Vietnam "the grand illusion of the American cause." It's true of all US post-WW II wars, the last one producing victory. Others left defeat, stalemate, and today's unresolved conflicts heading for more defeats.
Nonetheless, imperial America won't quit waging wars and plans more, no matter the human toll. For long-suffering Afghans, it's incalculable.
Amnesty International's (AI) Afghanistan Report
In its new report titled, "Fleeing War, Finding Misery: The Plight of the Internally Displaced in Afghanistan," AI discussed their deprivation and harm.
One woman interviewed said she didn't know what problem was worst. So many cause pain and hardships, including "school, employment, not having proper housing, food, health - when my children are getting sick and I have to pay for the doctor and medications. It's everything."
With little or no income, Afghans can't cope, especially under occupation and war. Another woman told AI: "We are miserable here." Imagine how many others feel the same way. No one's helping. Conditions go from bad to worse.
"Conflict affects more Afghans now than at any point in the last decade," said AI. In many areas, it's intense, including in once relatively peaceful towns and villages. As a result, many families and entire communities fled for safety and security.
Four hundred people a day are displaced. In January 2012, they numbered around 500,000, plus another 2.8 million or more in other countries. Tens of thousands sought refuge around Kabul and other cities. Though hard to precisely estimate, perhaps 35,000 or more live in Kabul slums alone under horrific conditions.
Some construct makeshift dwellings from mud, poles, plywood, plastic sheeting, and cardboard. The offer little protection from Afghanistan's harsh weather. As a result, around two dozen children under age five froze to death in January 2012 alone.
Water's another major problem, both its safety and amount. So is hard to find work, enough income to survive, and food to avoid starving, let alone unaffordable/inadequate/unavailable healthcare.
Moreover, families "live under constant threat of forced eviction." Bulldozers level their shelters. They have to scramble to save belongings and scavenge to retrieve what they can from rubble.
"Life in close quarters in unhygienic conditions means that illness spreads rapidly, particularly among young children."
Some slum areas lack health clinics. Others get scant services from mobile ones. They're unable to address gynecological, pre and post-natal, and other specialized medical needs.
As a result, Afghanistan's infant mortality rate is one of the world's highest at 129 per 1,000, according to Afghan Ministry of Public Health data. Moreover, pre-age five mortality is 191 per 1,000.
Afghans also endure extreme poverty, unemployment, and deprivation in virtually all aspects of their lives. They constantly worry about getting enough food it eat, forced evictions, lack of vital services, and occupation related violence.
"Afghanistan's human development indicators - in categories such as health, education and income - are below the regional average (and) among the world's worst-off countries."
Internally displaced people are most affected. Most fled after homes or communities were razed, after violence killed family members and forced them out, after receiving threats, or other conflict related reasons.
Wherever America shows up, mass killings, destruction and incalculable human misery follow. After a decade of war and occupation, Afghans perhaps suffer most of all.
Those displaced lack virtually everything necessary to survive - housing, water, sanitation, healthcare, education, employment, enough income, and sufficient food to avoid starvation. Neither America or its puppet government provide help.
Hamid Karzai, in fact, is a caricature of a leader. A former CIA asset/UNOCAL Oil consultant, he's little more than Kabul's mayor. Outside the capital, he has no mandate, support or authority. So many despise him, he wouldn't last a day without extensive round-the-clock protection.
During the 1990s, ruling Taliban officials kept order, despite their ultra-puritanical extremism and harsh treatment for non-believers. They also eradicated opium production. Under occupation that changed.
Afghanistan's the world's leading producer. Crime bosses and CIA profit hugely. So do major banks. They launder an estimated $500 billion annually, plus up to another $1 trillion in other elicit laundering.
None of it trickles down to Afghans, except minimally in crop grower underpayments. To the extent authorities respond to human need, AI calls it "inconsistent, insufficient, and ineffective." In addition, no plan exists to help internally displaced refugees.
Some officials say they don't exist to avoid responsibility. As a result, expect protracted extreme deprivation for many years to come - for certain under occupation and conflict.
A Final Comment
Neither America or puppet authorities prioritize human need. They either ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist. They don't care.
America came to conquer, colonize, occupy, plunder, and dominate Afghanistan and the region. War without end rages. Conflict and killing continue daily. Civilians always suffer most.
Obama lied saying all US combat forces will be out by 2014. America didn't come to leave. Think Japan and Korea. Washington arrived post-WW II, never left, and plans to stay.
Imagine what Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, and other occupied people can look forward to. They're assured protracted misery unless sustain long-term liberating struggles.
Perhaps Afghans have the best chance, but not without years more conflict, human suffering, and mass deaths.
It's America's imperial legacy, especially across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Afghanistan best reflects it. Why else would fierce resistance continue.
Inspired, perhaps others will replicate its struggle, and slay the beast once and for all. It can't happen a moment too soon.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
This work is in the public domain
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
****************
America's War on Afghanistan
America's Afghanistan Legacy
by Stephen Lendman
In his book titled, "Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Empire," John Pilger discussed Afghanistan, saying:
"Through all the humanitarian crises in living memory, no country has been abused and suffered more, and none has been helped less than Afghanistan."
He described what looked more like a moonscape than a functioning nation. In Kabul, "contours of rubble rather than streets (exist), where people live in collapsed buildings, like earthquake victims waiting for rescue....(with) no light or heat."
If hell on earth exists, it's headquartered in Afghanistan, but has many global affiliate locations.
Afghanistan's Troubled History: A Brief Account
It goes back centuries since before Alexander the Great. Afghans endured what few can imagine. Marauding armies besieged cities, slaughtered thousands, and caused vast destruction.
In the 19th century, imperial Britain and Czarist Russia intervened. "Great Game" struggles followed. Wars, devastation and deep poverty resulted.
Until 1919, Afghanistan was a UK protectorate. After Czarist Russia fell, King Amanullah declared his country's independence. At the same time, he signed an aid and friendship treaty with Lenin and fought Britain.
Border skirmishes followed. Kabul was bombed. Finally London gave it up and quit, but conspired with anti Amanullah elements against him. As a result, he abdicated in 1929. Warlords contended for power.
King Muhammad Nadir Shah took over. Four years later he was assassinated. Muhammad Zahir Shah replaced him. As Afghanistan's last king, he ruled autocratically for 40 years.
In 1973, he was ousted and a republic declared. However, little changed under family member Daoud Khan as president. In 1978, a military coup removed him. In 1979, Soviet Russia invaded. Moscow put Babrak Karmal in charge, then Mohammad Najubullah in 1987. He lasted until 1992.
In the 1980s, US recruited mujahideen fighters battled Soviet occupiers. In 1989 they left, but a ravaged country remained.
Civil war followed. Then came 9/11, America's attack, invasion, occupation, millions of deaths, further destruction, and continued horrific human suffering to this day.
Pilger quoted the CIA once calling Vietnam "the grand illusion of the American cause." It's true of all US post-WW II wars, the last one producing victory. Others left defeat, stalemate, and today's unresolved conflicts heading for more defeats.
Nonetheless, imperial America won't quit waging wars and plans more, no matter the human toll. For long-suffering Afghans, it's incalculable.
Amnesty International's (AI) Afghanistan Report
In its new report titled, "Fleeing War, Finding Misery: The Plight of the Internally Displaced in Afghanistan," AI discussed their deprivation and harm.
One woman interviewed said she didn't know what problem was worst. So many cause pain and hardships, including "school, employment, not having proper housing, food, health - when my children are getting sick and I have to pay for the doctor and medications. It's everything."
With little or no income, Afghans can't cope, especially under occupation and war. Another woman told AI: "We are miserable here." Imagine how many others feel the same way. No one's helping. Conditions go from bad to worse.
"Conflict affects more Afghans now than at any point in the last decade," said AI. In many areas, it's intense, including in once relatively peaceful towns and villages. As a result, many families and entire communities fled for safety and security.
Four hundred people a day are displaced. In January 2012, they numbered around 500,000, plus another 2.8 million or more in other countries. Tens of thousands sought refuge around Kabul and other cities. Though hard to precisely estimate, perhaps 35,000 or more live in Kabul slums alone under horrific conditions.
Some construct makeshift dwellings from mud, poles, plywood, plastic sheeting, and cardboard. The offer little protection from Afghanistan's harsh weather. As a result, around two dozen children under age five froze to death in January 2012 alone.
Water's another major problem, both its safety and amount. So is hard to find work, enough income to survive, and food to avoid starving, let alone unaffordable/inadequate/unavailable healthcare.
Moreover, families "live under constant threat of forced eviction." Bulldozers level their shelters. They have to scramble to save belongings and scavenge to retrieve what they can from rubble.
"Life in close quarters in unhygienic conditions means that illness spreads rapidly, particularly among young children."
Some slum areas lack health clinics. Others get scant services from mobile ones. They're unable to address gynecological, pre and post-natal, and other specialized medical needs.
As a result, Afghanistan's infant mortality rate is one of the world's highest at 129 per 1,000, according to Afghan Ministry of Public Health data. Moreover, pre-age five mortality is 191 per 1,000.
Afghans also endure extreme poverty, unemployment, and deprivation in virtually all aspects of their lives. They constantly worry about getting enough food it eat, forced evictions, lack of vital services, and occupation related violence.
"Afghanistan's human development indicators - in categories such as health, education and income - are below the regional average (and) among the world's worst-off countries."
Internally displaced people are most affected. Most fled after homes or communities were razed, after violence killed family members and forced them out, after receiving threats, or other conflict related reasons.
Wherever America shows up, mass killings, destruction and incalculable human misery follow. After a decade of war and occupation, Afghans perhaps suffer most of all.
Those displaced lack virtually everything necessary to survive - housing, water, sanitation, healthcare, education, employment, enough income, and sufficient food to avoid starvation. Neither America or its puppet government provide help.
Hamid Karzai, in fact, is a caricature of a leader. A former CIA asset/UNOCAL Oil consultant, he's little more than Kabul's mayor. Outside the capital, he has no mandate, support or authority. So many despise him, he wouldn't last a day without extensive round-the-clock protection.
During the 1990s, ruling Taliban officials kept order, despite their ultra-puritanical extremism and harsh treatment for non-believers. They also eradicated opium production. Under occupation that changed.
Afghanistan's the world's leading producer. Crime bosses and CIA profit hugely. So do major banks. They launder an estimated $500 billion annually, plus up to another $1 trillion in other elicit laundering.
None of it trickles down to Afghans, except minimally in crop grower underpayments. To the extent authorities respond to human need, AI calls it "inconsistent, insufficient, and ineffective." In addition, no plan exists to help internally displaced refugees.
Some officials say they don't exist to avoid responsibility. As a result, expect protracted extreme deprivation for many years to come - for certain under occupation and conflict.
A Final Comment
Neither America or puppet authorities prioritize human need. They either ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist. They don't care.
America came to conquer, colonize, occupy, plunder, and dominate Afghanistan and the region. War without end rages. Conflict and killing continue daily. Civilians always suffer most.
Obama lied saying all US combat forces will be out by 2014. America didn't come to leave. Think Japan and Korea. Washington arrived post-WW II, never left, and plans to stay.
Imagine what Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, and other occupied people can look forward to. They're assured protracted misery unless sustain long-term liberating struggles.
Perhaps Afghans have the best chance, but not without years more conflict, human suffering, and mass deaths.
It's America's imperial legacy, especially across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Afghanistan best reflects it. Why else would fierce resistance continue.
Inspired, perhaps others will replicate its struggle, and slay the beast once and for all. It can't happen a moment too soon.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
This work is in the public domain
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Below is the link to the SteveLendmanBlog. Or Google it.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Monday, February 06, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog-Heading for War on Syria
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
***********
Heading for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified) 06 Feb 2012
Syria
Heading for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Washington's longstanding policy is regime change in Iran and Syria. At issue is replacing independent regimes with client ones and securing unchallenged control of valued Middle East resources.
On February 4, Russia and China vetoed a largely one-sided anti-Assad resolution. A previous article called him more victim than villain. Yet he's falsely blamed for months of externally generated violence.
In fact, he confronted a Western-backed armed insurgency replicating the Libya model. By so doing he acted responsibly against a heavily armed insurrection.
Imagine a similar scenario in America. Local police, National Guard forces, and Pentagon troops would confront it violently. Combined, they'd way exceed Assad's response.
Mass killing would follow. Western media scoundrels would approve. In contrast, the New York Times calls Syria's self-defense state-sponsored "butchery."
Its position substitutes disinformation for truth and full disclosure. They're scrupulously avoided to misinform, misrepresent and betray readers. It's longstanding major media policy. The Times featured it longer than others.
Since violence erupted last March, Syria was blamed for Western-backed insurgents against him. It's part of Washington's "New Middle East" project to control North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia to Russia and China's borders.
For over a decade, regime change plans targeted Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and other countries outside the region.
Replicating Libya's model is Washington's template for future NATO aggression. Whether it's employed fully in Syria remains to be seen.
So far, heavily armed insurgents entered from regional countries. Anti-government violence followed. Trapped between warring sides, civilian casualties mount. No end of conflict approaches. In fact, the worst is yet to come.
On February 5, Israel's Mossad-connected DEBKA/file said Russia put "Rapid Reaction Force (aka Spetsnaz) units in Black Sea bases on (alert) to set out for Syria to defend Damascus."
Russia's determined to avoid another Libyan-style intervention. In response, Obama said Washington, key NATO partners, and Gulf allies will (in DEBKA/file's words) "redouble their efforts to unseat Bashar Assad."
On February 4, an official White House statement said:
"Assad must halt his campaign of killing and crimes against his own people now. He must step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately."
Fact check
Since WW II, no combination of nations caused more slaughter, destruction, and human misery globally that America. Moreover, Washington won't tolerate democracy at home or abroad.
"Assad has no right to lead Syria, and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community. The international community must work to protect the Syrian people from this abhorrent brutality."
Fact check
International law prohibits interfering in the internal affairs of other nations, including determining the legitimacy of their leaders. Moreover, Syria's "abhorrent brutality" is entirely Western-backed. It was absent until Washington, key NATO partners, and rogue regional despots intervened, notably Saudi Arabia, and of course, Israel's very much involved.
"We must work with the Syrian people toward building a brighter future for Syria....The suffering citizens of Syria must know: we are with you, and the Assad regime must come to an end."
Fact check
Long-suffering Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, Somalis, Bahrainis, Yemenis, Palestinians, and many others elsewhere understand the horrors when America intervenes. So do Syrians. They abhor Washington led meddling in their internal affairs and want no part of it.
In fact, a mid-December Qatar Foundation-funded YouGov Siraj poll found 55% of Syrians back Assad. It contradicts Western discourse of majority opposition. Except for the London Guardian, the findings were unreported in the West.
On February 4, Global Research editor Michel Chossudovsky explained "armed opposition groups" operating in Syria. They include the Western-backed Syria Free Army (FSA) "involved in criminal and terrorist acts."
They're killing civilians and security forces. They're reigning terror blamed on Assad. They're destroying state assets, including fuel pipelines, trains and vehicles carrying fuel, as well as buildings and other targets.
Their ranks include elements similar to Libyan insurgents, including "Al Qaeda affiliated" militants, "Muslim Brotherhood" members, and "Salafists. Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia" support them. So do other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and Jordan.
Largely the same countries behind the Syria draft resolution backed Resolution 1973 against Libya. Once passed, war followed straightaway.
They include sponsor Morocco and co-sponsors:
• Washington, Britain, France and Germany (the so-called NATO Quad - the key four) plus Portugal and Turkey;
• all six GCC states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE, and Bahrain plus Jordan and Libya;
• Colombia; and
• Togo - its UN envoy Kodjo Menan holds the rotating SC presidency during February.
Russia and China stood firm against them. Washington's UN envoy Susan Rice accused both countries of holding the Security Council "hostage." Responding, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said:
The Security Council decision "should be exactly such because some influential members of the international community, including those sitting at this table, from the very beginning of the crisis in Syria undermined the opportunity of political settlement calling for change of the regime and setting the opposition against the power without shunning provocation and forcing for armed means of fighting."
He added that the draft resolution didn't reflect "reality in Syria," nor did "co-authors" adopt Russia's amendments to "distance" themselves "from (culpable) extremist groups" behind the insurrection.
On February 7, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov will meet Assad in Damascus.
On February 5, a Foreign Ministry statement said:
"Russia, including in interaction with other countries, is firmly set to seek the quickest stabilization of the situation in Syria along the paths of the quickest implementation of longstanding democratic transformations."
Moscow also urged Arab League foreign ministers to continue their monitoring mission and report accurately on what they find. Russia and China stand firm against another "Libyan scenario."
A Final Comment
Washington and key NATO partners plan intervention with or without Security Council cover. Doing so violates fundamental international law that prohibits interfering in other countries' internal affairs, except in self-defense if attacked.
Syria threatens no one. Neither does Iran. Yet both are targeted for regime change. Plans are longstanding. With or without UN support, they're coming.
Expect the worst in 2012, preceded perhaps by false flag cover blamed on Assad. The strategy's used as needed. It's an America tradition to enlist public support for war.
Electoral politics may influence timing, especially in a close presidential race. According to the latest February 4 Rasmussen poll findings, "Romney now ties Obama 45/45." Moreover, "uncommitted voters (12% of its sample) have a distinctly sour take on the President," though months remain until November.
Expect unfolding events to attempt to improve Obama's chances, including perhaps war by scaring most people to support it. It's generally effective when tried. In a close election year race, odds favor it.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
This work is in the public domain
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
***********
Heading for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Email: lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net (verified) 06 Feb 2012
Syria
Heading for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Washington's longstanding policy is regime change in Iran and Syria. At issue is replacing independent regimes with client ones and securing unchallenged control of valued Middle East resources.
On February 4, Russia and China vetoed a largely one-sided anti-Assad resolution. A previous article called him more victim than villain. Yet he's falsely blamed for months of externally generated violence.
In fact, he confronted a Western-backed armed insurgency replicating the Libya model. By so doing he acted responsibly against a heavily armed insurrection.
Imagine a similar scenario in America. Local police, National Guard forces, and Pentagon troops would confront it violently. Combined, they'd way exceed Assad's response.
Mass killing would follow. Western media scoundrels would approve. In contrast, the New York Times calls Syria's self-defense state-sponsored "butchery."
Its position substitutes disinformation for truth and full disclosure. They're scrupulously avoided to misinform, misrepresent and betray readers. It's longstanding major media policy. The Times featured it longer than others.
Since violence erupted last March, Syria was blamed for Western-backed insurgents against him. It's part of Washington's "New Middle East" project to control North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia to Russia and China's borders.
For over a decade, regime change plans targeted Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and other countries outside the region.
Replicating Libya's model is Washington's template for future NATO aggression. Whether it's employed fully in Syria remains to be seen.
So far, heavily armed insurgents entered from regional countries. Anti-government violence followed. Trapped between warring sides, civilian casualties mount. No end of conflict approaches. In fact, the worst is yet to come.
On February 5, Israel's Mossad-connected DEBKA/file said Russia put "Rapid Reaction Force (aka Spetsnaz) units in Black Sea bases on (alert) to set out for Syria to defend Damascus."
Russia's determined to avoid another Libyan-style intervention. In response, Obama said Washington, key NATO partners, and Gulf allies will (in DEBKA/file's words) "redouble their efforts to unseat Bashar Assad."
On February 4, an official White House statement said:
"Assad must halt his campaign of killing and crimes against his own people now. He must step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately."
Fact check
Since WW II, no combination of nations caused more slaughter, destruction, and human misery globally that America. Moreover, Washington won't tolerate democracy at home or abroad.
"Assad has no right to lead Syria, and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community. The international community must work to protect the Syrian people from this abhorrent brutality."
Fact check
International law prohibits interfering in the internal affairs of other nations, including determining the legitimacy of their leaders. Moreover, Syria's "abhorrent brutality" is entirely Western-backed. It was absent until Washington, key NATO partners, and rogue regional despots intervened, notably Saudi Arabia, and of course, Israel's very much involved.
"We must work with the Syrian people toward building a brighter future for Syria....The suffering citizens of Syria must know: we are with you, and the Assad regime must come to an end."
Fact check
Long-suffering Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, Somalis, Bahrainis, Yemenis, Palestinians, and many others elsewhere understand the horrors when America intervenes. So do Syrians. They abhor Washington led meddling in their internal affairs and want no part of it.
In fact, a mid-December Qatar Foundation-funded YouGov Siraj poll found 55% of Syrians back Assad. It contradicts Western discourse of majority opposition. Except for the London Guardian, the findings were unreported in the West.
On February 4, Global Research editor Michel Chossudovsky explained "armed opposition groups" operating in Syria. They include the Western-backed Syria Free Army (FSA) "involved in criminal and terrorist acts."
They're killing civilians and security forces. They're reigning terror blamed on Assad. They're destroying state assets, including fuel pipelines, trains and vehicles carrying fuel, as well as buildings and other targets.
Their ranks include elements similar to Libyan insurgents, including "Al Qaeda affiliated" militants, "Muslim Brotherhood" members, and "Salafists. Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia" support them. So do other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and Jordan.
Largely the same countries behind the Syria draft resolution backed Resolution 1973 against Libya. Once passed, war followed straightaway.
They include sponsor Morocco and co-sponsors:
• Washington, Britain, France and Germany (the so-called NATO Quad - the key four) plus Portugal and Turkey;
• all six GCC states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE, and Bahrain plus Jordan and Libya;
• Colombia; and
• Togo - its UN envoy Kodjo Menan holds the rotating SC presidency during February.
Russia and China stood firm against them. Washington's UN envoy Susan Rice accused both countries of holding the Security Council "hostage." Responding, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said:
The Security Council decision "should be exactly such because some influential members of the international community, including those sitting at this table, from the very beginning of the crisis in Syria undermined the opportunity of political settlement calling for change of the regime and setting the opposition against the power without shunning provocation and forcing for armed means of fighting."
He added that the draft resolution didn't reflect "reality in Syria," nor did "co-authors" adopt Russia's amendments to "distance" themselves "from (culpable) extremist groups" behind the insurrection.
On February 7, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov will meet Assad in Damascus.
On February 5, a Foreign Ministry statement said:
"Russia, including in interaction with other countries, is firmly set to seek the quickest stabilization of the situation in Syria along the paths of the quickest implementation of longstanding democratic transformations."
Moscow also urged Arab League foreign ministers to continue their monitoring mission and report accurately on what they find. Russia and China stand firm against another "Libyan scenario."
A Final Comment
Washington and key NATO partners plan intervention with or without Security Council cover. Doing so violates fundamental international law that prohibits interfering in other countries' internal affairs, except in self-defense if attacked.
Syria threatens no one. Neither does Iran. Yet both are targeted for regime change. Plans are longstanding. With or without UN support, they're coming.
Expect the worst in 2012, preceded perhaps by false flag cover blamed on Assad. The strategy's used as needed. It's an America tradition to enlist public support for war.
Electoral politics may influence timing, especially in a close presidential race. According to the latest February 4 Rasmussen poll findings, "Romney now ties Obama 45/45." Moreover, "uncommitted voters (12% of its sample) have a distinctly sour take on the President," though months remain until November.
Expect unfolding events to attempt to improve Obama's chances, including perhaps war by scaring most people to support it. It's generally effective when tried. In a close election year race, odds favor it.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen (at) sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
See also:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
This work is in the public domain
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog-
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
AAAAAAAA
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Obama's Failed State of the Union
Obama's Failed State of the Union
by Stephen Lendman
It was typical Obama, taking credit for what should be condemned. He's a fraud, a crime boss, a war criminal multiple times over, a moral coward, and serial liar.
His State of the Union address was beginning-to-end doublespeak, duplicity, coverup, and denial of failed policies complicit with Wall Street crooks, war profiteers, and other corporate favorites while popular needs go begging.
Not according to fawning New York Times writers, however. Suppressing truth and full disclosure, Helene Cooper headlined, Obama Speech Makes Pitch for Economic Fairness," saying:
Obama "pledged on Tuesday night to use government power to balance the scale between America's rich and the rest of the public....toward an economy 'built to last' and what he called irresponsible policies of the past that caused economic collapse."
Fact check
Throughout his tenure, Obama transferred trillions of dollars to Wall Street, other corporate favorites, and America's rich already with too much. In the process, he deepened a Main Street Depression. As a result, half of US households are impoverished or bordering on it. Hunger and homelessness grow. Nothing's done to help. Unaddressed human need is incalculable.
Over 25 million remain unemployed. Job creation is nil except for low wage/no benefit temp or part-time ones. Inequality in America is unprecedented. Obama supports austerity when massive stimulus is needed. Rich elites never had it so good at the expense of ordinary people left out.
Obama's Failed State isn’t fit to live in for growing millions.
Nonetheless, an accompanying Times editorial headlined, "The State of the Union in 2012," saying:
"A year ago....we applauded" Obama's plan to "put millions of struggling people to work (and his support for) wrestl(ing) down the deficit (by requiring) the wealthy (to pay) a fairer share of taxes."
Applause continued, ignoring Obama's duplicitous Tuesday address and agenda.
Fact check
It includes imperial wars, tax cuts for the rich, corporate handouts, and austerity for ordinary people losing out.
His America perpetuates permanent wars, disproportionate wealth extremes, spiraling debt, and unaddressed human need.
He ignores growing millions unemployed and impoverished. He cut Medicare for seniors and America's disabled as well as Medicaid for poor and disadvantaged recipients. He left growing millions of students debt entrapped, many for life.
He's destroying Middle America. His latest proposal involves looting pension funds to enrich mortgage lenders. Yet he's packaging fraud as a boon to ordinary people. It's typical Obama - say one thing, do another.
Nonetheless, major media scoundrels applaud. As a result, they're part of the problem, not the solution.
The editorial highlighted Obama's "achievements" and plans. It ignored his destructive agenda. It was typical Times, backing rogue politics.
Obama's address wreaked of failed state duplicity, coverup and denial. Throughout his tenure, rhetoric and gimmickry substituted for constructive policies. Tuesday was no different.
He left festering social and economic distress unaddressed, as well as the American dream in shambles. Expect continued business as usual to assure harder than ever times ahead.
He lied saying "The state of our union is getting stronger....In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs."
Progressive Radio News Hour regular, economist Jack Rasmus said Obama's "stimulus" programs consisted largely of corporate and personal super-rich tax cuts. As a result, they failed.
Corporations hoarded cuts and other subsidies. Job creation investments weren't made. Business benefitted. Ordinary people lost out. Economic recovery failed. Ongoing policies assure continued failure packaged as success.
According to Rasmus, Obama's agenda "failed because (it) relied on the private market sector to generate a sustained recovery, instead of on the government directly taking the lead to create jobs, rescue homeowners and resurrect housing, and stabilize state-local government finances long run."
He "bailed out banks that (don't) lend, rescued corporations that (don't) create jobs, and (inadequately) subsidized state and local governments for a brief period and then cut them loose to fend fiscally for themselves."
His agenda was and remains devastating for ordinary Americans. At the same time, corporations and rich ones flourish. His "built to last" economy favors them alone. He lied saying he wants to assure "everyone gets a fair shot." His notion of "American values" rewards the rich at the expense of everyone else.
He took credit for letting auto giants destroy jobs, slash worker pay and benefits, ban strike actions, and let corrupt union bosses serve as corporate enforcers. He said what Detroit did "can happen in other industries."
In fact, Detroit's "success" is bankruptcy and ruin. Motown became ghost town. In death throes, it symbolizes America's decline. In disrepair and decline, it's dying with shocking unemployment, poverty and unaddressed human need levels.
What Obama did to Detroit, he offers other cities packaged as populism. He took direct aim at destroying decades of painful labor struggles. They included taking to the streets, going on strike, holding boycotts, battling rogue bosses, police and National Guard forces, as well as paying with their blood and lives before real gains were won.
Now they're lost, including a living wage, decent benefits, and the right to bargain collectively on equal terms with management. Obama deplores the idea and fights it.
What grassroots struggles achieved, he and other rogue leaders destroyed. All this in a nation claiming to be government of, by and for the people, most of whom are working class ones struggling to get by. What Reagan era politics began, Obama raised to new levels.
Praising "America's Armed Forces," he also assured permanent war. They "exceed all expectations," he said. "Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example." Perhaps he has destroying humanity in mind to assure unchallenged US hegemony.
Ron Paul Responds to Obama's Address
Obama "once again showed that he does not represent the fundamental change this country needs. Instead of offering solutions to the problems our country faces, (he) deliver(ed) a campaign speech....typical (of) Washington political gamesmanship that (got) us exactly nowhere close to improving the lives of the American people."
His policies assure "continue economic stagnation" and decline. He "claims to want an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."
"Yet he remains committed to the same old system of debt, deficits, bailouts and cronyism that created our economic troubles."
"Of course, (he) refuses to even mention the role the Federal Reserve plays in creating an economic system where some are denied a fair shot or even to support my efforts at bringing transparency" to an opaque, secretive process.
"In the area of foreign policy and civil liberties, (Obama's) rhetoric" belies his agenda. It's "hardly 'change we can believe in.' " No wonder more and more Americans, especially young people, (reject his) phony alternatives (and those of) establishment Republicans.."
A Final Comment
Throughout his tenure, Obama waged multiple imperial wars, plans others, looted the nation's wealth, wrecked the economy, consigned growing millions to impoverishment without jobs, and institutionalized tyranny to target dissenters challenging political corruption, corporate crooks, or abuse of power lawlessness.
He also destroyed hard won labor rights, wants education commodified as another business profit center, and wages war on whistleblowers, dissenters, Muslims, Latino immigrants, and environmental and animal rights activists called terrorists.
He wrecked America, governs lawlessly, and threatens worse ahead. Imagine the unpalatable options facing voters in November between a lawless/crime boss/militarist/pro-war/anti-populist/morally corrupt president, and a rogue's gallery of alternatives looking more like a police lineup than legitimate candidates.
They assure continued pro-business/pro-war/anti-populist policies. They threaten Middle America's survival and perhaps humanity if they're not stopped.
Imagine a president taking credit for what should be condemned. Imagine an aroused public refusing to let him.
It's happening with legs but needs to grow. What OWS began, millions need to join and support. That's how great struggles are won. This one's the mother of them all.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:54 AM
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
AAAAAAAA
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Obama's Failed State of the Union
Obama's Failed State of the Union
by Stephen Lendman
It was typical Obama, taking credit for what should be condemned. He's a fraud, a crime boss, a war criminal multiple times over, a moral coward, and serial liar.
His State of the Union address was beginning-to-end doublespeak, duplicity, coverup, and denial of failed policies complicit with Wall Street crooks, war profiteers, and other corporate favorites while popular needs go begging.
Not according to fawning New York Times writers, however. Suppressing truth and full disclosure, Helene Cooper headlined, Obama Speech Makes Pitch for Economic Fairness," saying:
Obama "pledged on Tuesday night to use government power to balance the scale between America's rich and the rest of the public....toward an economy 'built to last' and what he called irresponsible policies of the past that caused economic collapse."
Fact check
Throughout his tenure, Obama transferred trillions of dollars to Wall Street, other corporate favorites, and America's rich already with too much. In the process, he deepened a Main Street Depression. As a result, half of US households are impoverished or bordering on it. Hunger and homelessness grow. Nothing's done to help. Unaddressed human need is incalculable.
Over 25 million remain unemployed. Job creation is nil except for low wage/no benefit temp or part-time ones. Inequality in America is unprecedented. Obama supports austerity when massive stimulus is needed. Rich elites never had it so good at the expense of ordinary people left out.
Obama's Failed State isn’t fit to live in for growing millions.
Nonetheless, an accompanying Times editorial headlined, "The State of the Union in 2012," saying:
"A year ago....we applauded" Obama's plan to "put millions of struggling people to work (and his support for) wrestl(ing) down the deficit (by requiring) the wealthy (to pay) a fairer share of taxes."
Applause continued, ignoring Obama's duplicitous Tuesday address and agenda.
Fact check
It includes imperial wars, tax cuts for the rich, corporate handouts, and austerity for ordinary people losing out.
His America perpetuates permanent wars, disproportionate wealth extremes, spiraling debt, and unaddressed human need.
He ignores growing millions unemployed and impoverished. He cut Medicare for seniors and America's disabled as well as Medicaid for poor and disadvantaged recipients. He left growing millions of students debt entrapped, many for life.
He's destroying Middle America. His latest proposal involves looting pension funds to enrich mortgage lenders. Yet he's packaging fraud as a boon to ordinary people. It's typical Obama - say one thing, do another.
Nonetheless, major media scoundrels applaud. As a result, they're part of the problem, not the solution.
The editorial highlighted Obama's "achievements" and plans. It ignored his destructive agenda. It was typical Times, backing rogue politics.
Obama's address wreaked of failed state duplicity, coverup and denial. Throughout his tenure, rhetoric and gimmickry substituted for constructive policies. Tuesday was no different.
He left festering social and economic distress unaddressed, as well as the American dream in shambles. Expect continued business as usual to assure harder than ever times ahead.
He lied saying "The state of our union is getting stronger....In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs."
Progressive Radio News Hour regular, economist Jack Rasmus said Obama's "stimulus" programs consisted largely of corporate and personal super-rich tax cuts. As a result, they failed.
Corporations hoarded cuts and other subsidies. Job creation investments weren't made. Business benefitted. Ordinary people lost out. Economic recovery failed. Ongoing policies assure continued failure packaged as success.
According to Rasmus, Obama's agenda "failed because (it) relied on the private market sector to generate a sustained recovery, instead of on the government directly taking the lead to create jobs, rescue homeowners and resurrect housing, and stabilize state-local government finances long run."
He "bailed out banks that (don't) lend, rescued corporations that (don't) create jobs, and (inadequately) subsidized state and local governments for a brief period and then cut them loose to fend fiscally for themselves."
His agenda was and remains devastating for ordinary Americans. At the same time, corporations and rich ones flourish. His "built to last" economy favors them alone. He lied saying he wants to assure "everyone gets a fair shot." His notion of "American values" rewards the rich at the expense of everyone else.
He took credit for letting auto giants destroy jobs, slash worker pay and benefits, ban strike actions, and let corrupt union bosses serve as corporate enforcers. He said what Detroit did "can happen in other industries."
In fact, Detroit's "success" is bankruptcy and ruin. Motown became ghost town. In death throes, it symbolizes America's decline. In disrepair and decline, it's dying with shocking unemployment, poverty and unaddressed human need levels.
What Obama did to Detroit, he offers other cities packaged as populism. He took direct aim at destroying decades of painful labor struggles. They included taking to the streets, going on strike, holding boycotts, battling rogue bosses, police and National Guard forces, as well as paying with their blood and lives before real gains were won.
Now they're lost, including a living wage, decent benefits, and the right to bargain collectively on equal terms with management. Obama deplores the idea and fights it.
What grassroots struggles achieved, he and other rogue leaders destroyed. All this in a nation claiming to be government of, by and for the people, most of whom are working class ones struggling to get by. What Reagan era politics began, Obama raised to new levels.
Praising "America's Armed Forces," he also assured permanent war. They "exceed all expectations," he said. "Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example." Perhaps he has destroying humanity in mind to assure unchallenged US hegemony.
Ron Paul Responds to Obama's Address
Obama "once again showed that he does not represent the fundamental change this country needs. Instead of offering solutions to the problems our country faces, (he) deliver(ed) a campaign speech....typical (of) Washington political gamesmanship that (got) us exactly nowhere close to improving the lives of the American people."
His policies assure "continue economic stagnation" and decline. He "claims to want an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."
"Yet he remains committed to the same old system of debt, deficits, bailouts and cronyism that created our economic troubles."
"Of course, (he) refuses to even mention the role the Federal Reserve plays in creating an economic system where some are denied a fair shot or even to support my efforts at bringing transparency" to an opaque, secretive process.
"In the area of foreign policy and civil liberties, (Obama's) rhetoric" belies his agenda. It's "hardly 'change we can believe in.' " No wonder more and more Americans, especially young people, (reject his) phony alternatives (and those of) establishment Republicans.."
A Final Comment
Throughout his tenure, Obama waged multiple imperial wars, plans others, looted the nation's wealth, wrecked the economy, consigned growing millions to impoverishment without jobs, and institutionalized tyranny to target dissenters challenging political corruption, corporate crooks, or abuse of power lawlessness.
He also destroyed hard won labor rights, wants education commodified as another business profit center, and wages war on whistleblowers, dissenters, Muslims, Latino immigrants, and environmental and animal rights activists called terrorists.
He wrecked America, governs lawlessly, and threatens worse ahead. Imagine the unpalatable options facing voters in November between a lawless/crime boss/militarist/pro-war/anti-populist/morally corrupt president, and a rogue's gallery of alternatives looking more like a police lineup than legitimate candidates.
They assure continued pro-business/pro-war/anti-populist policies. They threaten Middle America's survival and perhaps humanity if they're not stopped.
Imagine a president taking credit for what should be condemned. Imagine an aroused public refusing to let him.
It's happening with legs but needs to grow. What OWS began, millions need to join and support. That's how great struggles are won. This one's the mother of them all.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:54 AM
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
From Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
From Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog-Class War in America
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog-Doubts About Gaddafi's Reported Assassination
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
The Latest From The SteveLendmanBlog
Markin comment:
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
I am always happy to post material from the SteveLendmanBlog, although I am not always in agreement with his analysis. I am always interested in getting a left-liberal/radical perspective on some issues that I don’t generally have time to cover in full like the question of Palestine, the Middle East in general, and civil rights and economic issues here in America and elsewhere. Moreover the blog provides plenty of useful links to other sources of information about the subject under discussion.
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