Bill Van Auken writes in “Argentina’s General Videla and the ‘war on terror’”:

Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla died May 17 at the age of 87 as the result of injuries suffered from a fall in a prison shower. He was remembered as the head of a savage military dictators

… Read full post »

One of Obama’s damage control frontiers this week is the “cover up” after the tragic and deadly attack on the Benghazi consulate last September.

It is being roundly pooh-poohed as not scandal-label-worthy by Obama Team Dems. The one MSNBC anchor I am willing to watch, Chris Hayes, t… Read full post »

The f-word is fascism.

The first amendment matters. Should matter. Apparently not so much to the Justice Department and Democratic President Barack Obama.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,&

… Read full post »

Of course Washington decries the corruption in Afghanistan and calls it out as a major obstacle to its mission there. That is certainly rich points out Dilip Hiro in “The Great Afghan Corruption Scam: How Operation Enduring Freedom Mutated into Operation Enduring Corruption” sin/… Read full post »

RE-POST from May 12, 2011:

What is JSOC? Joint Special Operations Command.

I got that it was some kind of secret U.S. SWAT-team-like paramilitary program, ever growing and being unleashed onto scores of nations. I can't begin to imagine the breathtaking “black budget” it must suck up both… Read full post »

The sociopaths rise to the top of power by clawing, bullying, intimidating, lying, charming, betraying their ways.

They rise to the top by being enabled by the bullied, the craven, the stupid, the naive, the opportunistic, the distracted, the brainwashed, and/or by crony bullies.

Colin Todhunter /… Read full post »

EXCERPTS

Andrew O’Hehir in “Guantanamo: It’s Obama’s disgrace now”

But as details about the conditions of detainment at Guantánamo began to leak, the place began to look not just abusive and nightmarish but also bureaucratic and buffoonish. Many of tho… Read full post »

ODE TO L.J.

Black, sleek
cat chic.
Loose-limbed she lies
having lazed all day,
receiving life like a queen,
God’s well-rested being.
A paradox of wildness and obligingness
that great cat essence
hangs from her petite frame.
I named her Lady Jane.

Forget nine lives, what impresses me?
Her myriad of person/… Read full post »

Naomi Spencer in “Iraq war resister, a pregnant mother of four, sentenced to 10 months in prison” spells out the compelling tale of Army Pfc. Kimberly Rivera.

Kimberly and Mario Rivera, both natives of Mesquite, TX, met as fellow workers at Walmart. They had their first child when Ki… Read full post »

“Braying for war against Syria” by Bill Van Auken:

Van Auken accuses the Washington political establishment of seriously escalating a campaign of propaganda about the alleged use of chemical weapons. This has been prompted, contends Van Auken, from Syrian government forces having mil… Read full post »

EXCERPTS:

"6 U.S. Cities That Criminalize Homelessness" by Kevin Mathews:

... Rather than finding ways to provide assistance to some of the country’s least fortunate citizens, lawmakers have developed strict regulations to criminalize homeless people’s activities, as if they were sle

… Read full post »

 %IMAGE… Read full post »

Barry Grey in "American democracy in shambles" writes:

With the implementation of a state of military siege against the population of Boston last week, the American ruling class has crossed a historical, legal and political Rubicon.

The die is cast and the sun is setting on the democratic forms

… Read full post »

Lesley Docksey’s article “‘Fit for Purpose’ Cannon Fodder” in Dissident Voice is chilling and moving.

Its British context is easily relatable for Americans of conscience concerned about the recruitment and exploitation of our young people, particularly our most… Read full post »

The two Boston bombings of April 15th killed 3 people and wounded over 170. The two suspects are 19-year od Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s and his deceased older brother Tamerlan, who died after a shootout with the police.

Bill Van Auken of wsws:

A federal judge was brought to Tsarnaev’s hospit

… Read full post »

About the Ugo Rondinone Exhibition “Human Nature” (from website):

"For seven weeks this spring, nine 16-to 20-foot-tall, human-shaped stone figures by Swiss-born, New York-based artist Ugo Rondinone, will transform Rockefeller Center ....

"Human Nature is a stark cont… Read full post »

From “Texas plant explosion highlights gutting of health and safety rules” by Andre Damon.

4-17-13, Wednesday, West Fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas

20 miles north of Waco (close to compound where in 1993 after FBI assault on religious compound 76 men, women and children di

… Read full post »

RE-POST from September 15, 2012:

Protests at US embassies are occurring throughout the Middle East and beyond. Four days thus far and counting.

Over a dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The triggering catalyst was an ugly anti-Islamic video posted on YouTube but Bill Van Auken of wsws e/… Read full post »

A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future by David H. Pink (Riverhead Books, NY, copyright: 2005, 2006)

Excerpts from Introduction and Chapter 1 - “Right Brain Rising”:

The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind -- comp

… Read full post »

Jonathan Landay of McClatchy:

The peace of a historic and festive event was shattered Monday when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people, including an 8-year-old, and injuring at least 130 more.

The near-simultaneous blasts shattered windows and sent ru

… Read full post »

Joseph Kishore of wsws refers to the latest phase of Democrat/Republican budget skirmishing as a “dog and pony show”. The “big business” parties, Democrat and Republican, are united in ESSENTIALS -- the gutting of two programs, Social Security and Medicare, that have OVER… Read full post »