The US military and CIA launder coup propaganda through popular first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty, simulating assassinations of Venezeula’s socialist leader and sabotage of its electrical infrastructure.
“Patriotism, in the trenches, was too remote a sentiment, and at once rejected as fit only for civilians, or prisoners.” -- Robert Graves, Goodbye To All That(1929).
As the world watches aghast at another US and allies’ attempt to engineer a coup in Venezuela, I would like to offer a few insights from Stephen Kinzer’ provocative chapter, “The deep hurt,” (pp. 227-250) in his book, The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of the American Empire (2017).
Those of us who had been looking forward to a substantial span of time after last year’s midterm elections when interest in electoral politics would subside enough for real politics to happen have been disappointed.
Never in the history of journalism have so many reporters, editors, and pundits expended so much energy fixating on one particular target, while other larger prey frolic unmolested within sight.
Donald Trump’s domestic troubles, combined with the current makeup of his foreign policy team, provide a confluence of circumstances, perhaps a perfect storm, to pull the United States into a war with Iran.
The title of Ehud Barak’s recently published autobiography My Country, My Life declares that it is a book not just about Barak’s life, but also a first person account of some the most important moments in Israeli history, told by a politician and senior military official who was in the room. Of particular interest is the Iranian nuclear issue.
Some of what they will find objectionable merits further scrutiny; some could be disabling. On the other hand, it is precisely her differences from the others that make her candidacy interesting and potentially constructive. If she is different from the others in the way that she seems to be, I say: vive la difference!
I would therefore urge everybody who wants to build a Left alternative within the framework of the Democratic Party to check her out.
Not expecting total agreement by anyone [I don't] or any agreement by some, but I find this periodic column to be quite interesting, often funny. There are two links among many within the article that I find particularly worth reading. For those interested in our international affairs as have been discussed here at dag they are repeated here and here.
While Senators Cardin and Portman are trying to sneak a last-minute amendment into the budget bill to make BDS illegal – violating free speech – 26 states are also moving to make boycotts of Israel illegal.
According to recent reports, congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle are planning to sneak a bill criminalizing politically motivated boycotts of Israel into the end-of-the-year omnibus spending bill.
A highly original documentary project reveals how a couple of Beverly Hills billionaires “are willing to risk war in Iran and the Middle East — all in order to boost and protect their lucrative pistachio business.”
U.S. citizens show deference to the armed forces regardless of their political persuasion. Their willingness to let the generals decide is a threat to the democratic tradition of civilian oversight.
What does President Trump’s recent nomination of retired Army General John Abizaid to become the next U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia signify? Next to nothing -- and arguably quite a lot.
“The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region.”
