February 2011
10 posts
Ayn Rand Railed Against Government Benefits, But... →
But, as I note in my book, The Fifteen Biggest Lies About the Economy, that’s par for the course. A central rule of the U.S. political economy is that people are attracted to the idea of “limited government” in the abstract—and certainly don’t want the government intruding in their homes—but they really, really like living in a society with adequately funded public services.
That’s just as...
The Empty Press Room — How Corporate Journalism... →
Tragically, like their corporate colleagues elsewhere, the Observer’s editors appear oblivious to the corporate-driven greed of global capitalism that threatens billions of people. No wonder it is ‘profoundly depressing that the chances of concerted global action to protect the environment seem to be receding.’ It is a platitude and a slippery diversion to say, as the Observer does, ‘We must...
The Great Game: The Reality of Britain’s War in... →
Mark Curtis has written a new report for War on Want:
Afghanistan has borne the brunt of decades of foreign intervention and conflict, and as a result is now one of the poorest countries in the world. For ordinary Afghans, the situation resulting from the war is terrible. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured since 2001, human rights are deteriorating and millions of Afghans rely...
Jonathan Cook: ‘Publish It Not’ →
Brilliant, wide-ranging article about media coverage of Israel.
(via Instapaper)
Richard Keeble: No reason to celebrate the Gulf... →
There was no Gulf War of 1991. In the way in which the term is generally used and understood, what was launched by the US-led forces 20 years ago this month, was not a war at all. It was nothing less than a series of massacres.
(via Instapaper)
Collateral Damage — WikiLeaks In The Crosshairs →
Good MediaLens debunking of the recent attacks on WikiLeaks, as well as a nice bit at the start about war-mongering Education Secretary Michael Gove.
(via Instapaper)
Juan Cole: Egypt’s Class Conflict →
The Nasserist state, for all its flaws, gained legitimacy because it was seen as a state for the mass of Egyptians, whether abroad or domestically. The present regime is widely seen in Egypt as a state for the others — for the US, Israel, France and the UK — and as a state for the few — the Neoliberal nouveau riche. Islam plays no role in this analysis because it is not an independent variable....
NYT Promotes Destructive Myths About Aristide →
Joe Emersberger:
Ginger Thompson wrote in the New York Times on January 19 that former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide “rose to power as a champion of Haiti’s poor but became notorious for his violent crackdowns of political dissent.”
The “political dissent” that Thompson refers to is a campaign that included murderous raids into Haiti by rebels comprised of former...
More evidence of US war crimes →
Lt. Col. Tanya Bradsher, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told the press, “The fact that so many autopsies and investigative reports exist indicates the seriousness with which the Department takes its responsibilities regarding detainee treatment and accountability.” By this remarkable logic, the 190 deaths in custody are proof, not of the savagery of American imperialism, but of its humanitarian...