It goes on daily. Western media scoundrels ignore it. Too few people understand what everyone should. Militarized occupation is hell. Terrorizing civilian men, women, and children is worst of all. In early October, Israeli air strikes and artillery attacked Gaza. At least one death and numerous injuries followed. On October 11, Israeli aircraft struck again.
NYPD is turning up the heat on protesters with increased violence, arrests and legalized theft of personal property. "The intensity of harassment fluctuates from day to day depending on the white shirt in command that day," said Damien Shark, 42.
When Did Protecting the Environment Become a Partisan Issue?
Within the past month, two men who had an impact on the American environment died. They were both in their tenth decades. Their lives and work are important examples of the direction we should be pursuing today.
Evil is Evil -- Don't Vote for Evil
Back during the George W. Bush neocon regime, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in his UN speech summed up George W. Bush for the world. I am quoting Chavez from memory, not verbatim. "Yesterday standing at this same podium was Satan himself, speaking as if he owned the world. You can still smell the sulfur."
Corporatism is Systematically Sucking the Lifeblood Out of America
The continued growth of Corporatism in America is inflicting tremendous damage upon this nation and society; Corporatism might effectively be described as capitalism on steroids, spinning out of control, and poisoning and corrupting whatever it contacts. It has become a stifling, suffocating force that is sucking the lifeblood out of America.
America on the Cusp of Fascism
I use “fascism” here not as a cliché, but as an historical-structural formation principally rooted in the mature stage of capitalism, in which business-government interpenetration (what the Japanese political scientist Masao Maryuma called the “close-embrace” system) has created hierarchical social classes of wide differences in wealth and power, the militarization of social values and geopolitical strategy, and a faux ideology of classlessness to instill loyalty for the social order among working people. In fact, each of these factors is already present to a high degree in America–superbly disguised however by the rhetoric of liberalism, as in Mr. Obama’s presidency.
All War IS Local
The US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc., are, in reality, only viscerally experienced by a small percentage of the US American people. No direct taxes on the people have been assessed to fund the wars. They are funded instead by debt. And the absence of general conscription (a military draft) relieves the vast majority of the population from the emotional burden of worrying whether a family member will be forced into military service.
Obama’s Drone Dilemma
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on debates within the Obama administration about the legality of the drone war in Pakistan. State Department legal adviser Harold Koh, the former dean of Yale Law School and even more former darling of the left for his criticisms of the Bush administration’s aggressive theories of executive power, plays a prominent role in them. Koh apparently concluded that the drone war “veers near the edge” of illegality but does not quite tumble over it.
Drone Wars Protester Sentenced to Federal Prison
Catholic Worker Brian Terrell of Maloy, Iowa has been sentenced to serves 6 months in a federal prison for his witness against the use of drone warfare. Below is a message from Brian and his statement before the court.
New Senate Push to Pledge Unconditional Support for Israeli "Preventive" War on Iran
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is planning to press the Senate next month to pledge U.S. troops, money, and political support to Israel should Bibi Netanyahu launch a preventive war on Iran. Graham claims his effort would merely make explicit that the U.S. has Israel's back. But when your friend is drunk, you don't hand them the keys. If Graham has his way, he will hand Bibi the keys and lend him our car, while the rest of us ride shotgun.
Hacking The Future: Anonymity Matters
Dangerous Cult Similarities in the Mormon Church, Branch Davidians and JonestownThese cults have some very clear similarities that classify them, by definition, as a cult. One of these is: the
group is elitist, claiming a special,exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (forexample: the leader isconsidered the Messiah or anavatar; the group and/or theleader has a special mission to save humanity).
http://vegasjessie.com/2012/10/10/dangerous-cult-similarities-in-the-mormon-church-branch-davidians-and-jonestown/
Religious leaders respond to the rise of the “Nones”
Obama issues whistleblower directive to security agencies
A Presidential Policy Directive issued Wednesday says employees “who are eligible for access to classified information can effectively report waste, fraud, and abuse while protecting classified national security information. It prohibits retaliation against employees for reporting waste, fraud, and abuse.”
When Politicians Talk Theological Nonsense
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), in a recent talk at Liberty Baptist Church, proclaimed that the earth is not more than 9,000 years old and was created in six twenty-four hour days. And he was just getting started: evolution, embryology, and big-bang theory, he says, are "Lies straight from the pit of hell." Evolution and the big-bang are familiar targets; but embryology?
The Other America
America is changing. Not only the United States, not only North America but the whole continent and particularly Latin America. It's a part of the world where I feel more at home than in any other, a continent I feel deeply rooted in. It's a part of the world that feels unjustly neglected and it's true: Who seems to care today? Who addresses this relationship in the campaign?
'No Religion' Is Increasingly Popular Choice For Americans: Pew Report
Sarah Garrison grew up Catholic, but today she does not consider herself part of any religion. Yet as someone who meditates and prays every day to the "God here in our hearts," she would never call herself an atheist or agnostic and thinks church can play a positive role in society and individual lives.
WHY DO WE BELIEVE POLITICIANS?
People are determined to stick to their own beliefs -- no matter what fact-checkers say.
Walmart worker strikes go viral, hitting 28 stores in 12 states
Labor leaders said Tuesday, just one day before Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting, that workers at 28 stores in 12 states walked out and went on strike to demand the anti-union employer raise wages, improve working conditions and end retaliations against employees who attempt to form unions.
The geometry of apartheid
Sarah Levy reports on a protest of an event aimed at whitewashing Israel's crimes.
The class issues in the 2012 US elections
With less than four weeks to the US elections, vice presidential candidates Joseph Biden and Paul Ryan will debate tonight, with the Democratic Party hoping to recover from the impact of President Obama’s dismal performance last week in the first debate.
Wall Street vs. workers—the class gap widens
A study released Tuesday confirms that the financial parasites on Wall Street have lost nothing from the wrecking operation they have carried out on the US and world economy. The New York state comptroller reports that Wall Street firms will pay out more than $60 billion in compensation to their employees, a sum exceeded only in 2007 and 2008, the two years leading up to the financial crash that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
U.S. Sues Wells Fargo in Mortgage Fraud Case
The U.S. government filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit on Tuesday against Wells Fargo & Co, the latest legal volley against big banks for their lending during the housing boom.
Bankers Concede to Dreary Student Loan Predictions
A majority of US banking experts now concede that student loan debt is a serious problem and predict that a large percentage of students will increasingly have trouble paying off their high cost loans, according to a quarterly survey of US banking risk managers
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/10-1
The Politics of Fear
he latest Pew Research Center poll shows Mitt Romney ahead of President Barack Obama among likely voters, 49% to 45%. But the latest Gallup poll shows the President Obama leading Romney among likely voters, 50% to 45%.
America’s Moral Degeneracy
People who with good cause no longer believe the US and western media or the US and western governments think that the mortar shells were fired by US or Israeli operatives, or by the “rebels” they support, in order to give Turkey the excuse to start a NATO war with Syria. A UN sanctioned NATO invasion or air strikes, as in Libya, has been blocked by the Russians and Chinese. But if Syria and Turkey get into a war, NATO must come to the aid of its NATO member, Turkey.
Issues That Obama And Romney Avoid
With the quadrennial presidential election extravaganza reaching its peak, it’s useful to ask how the political campaigns are dealing with the most crucial issues we face. The simple answer is: badly, or not at all. If so, some important questions arise: why, and what can we do about it?
Strong Evidence Jesus Was Married Sends the Christian Right into a Tizzy
When a papyrus mentioning Jesus's wife surfaced, the revelation that he Son of God might be married posed a great challenge to the Church.
