And let’s face it–when the U.S. is killing innocent people from the air, it’s really hard to see how our actions are less a form of terrorism than the Al-Qaeda killing of civilians we have found so offensive in the last decade. Certainly it is helping terrorists recruit new members. Why not join when an American drone strike has killed your sister? I know that any anti-terrorist actions are deeply problematic and the drone strikes have eliminated a number of top targets who meant to do our nation harm. But the embrace of drone strikes, the assumption that everyone killed by a bombing is an enemy combatant, and the number of dead innocent people are deeply problematic from both a moral and strategic perspective.
– The Obama Drone War (via azspot) Via AZspot
Karl Marx had it right. At some point, capitalism can destroy itself. You cannot keep on shifting income from labor to capital without having an excess capacity and a lack of aggregate demand. That’s what has happened. We thought that markets worked. They’re not working.
– Economist Nouriel Roubini in a WSJ interview. He earned the nickname “Dr Doom” for predicting the current financial crisis. (via warofpositionist) Via TMO Magazine's tumblrIf… the machine of government… is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.
–Henry David Thoreau,On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849
(via beatyourselfup)
Via πMoreover, for anyone who defends the Obama administration here and insists that the U.S. Government simply must have access to all forms of human communication: does that also apply to in-person communication? Should home and apartment builders be required to install monitors in every room they build to ensure that the Government can surveil all human communications in order to prevent threats to national security and public safety? I believe someone once wrote a book about where this mindset inevitably leads. The very idea that no human communication should ever be allowed to take place beyond the reach of the Government is definitive authoritarianism, which is why Saudi Arabia and the UAE — and their American patron-ally — have so vigorously embraced it.
Greenwald points out that the FBI does not need this, because they can go to a judge, get a warrant, and use traditional surveillance when it’s necessary. “But what about encryption?!” Well:
the problem cited by the FBI to justify this new power is a total pretext: “investigators encountered encrypted communications only one time during 2009′s wiretaps” and, even then, “the state investigators told the court that the encryption did not prevent them from getting the plain text of the messages.” As usual, fear-mongering over national security and other threats is the instrument to justify massive new surveillance powers that will extend far beyond their claimed function.
I’m profoundly disappointed in the Obama administration’s record on civil rights and privacy. I expected better from a president who is a Constitutional law scholar.
tl;dr: The very idea that no human communication should ever be allowed to take place beyond the reach of the Government is definitive authoritarianism
Need another reason to hate capitalism? I urge everyone to watch this. Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking) is destroying our planet and water. This issue was not raised as an environmental issue but a HUMAN health issue, it is that serious and harmful. Please take ten minutes and educate yourself.
Fracking. Check it.
Via Human Freedom Animal Rights One Struggle One Fight
The People’s Record Memorial Day Dedication
Remembering Pat Tillman: Lies shield truth behind veteran’s death
May 28, 2012
Former NFL player Pat Tillman enlisted in the U.S. Army after the events of 9/11 in 2002. After completing several tours, he began to develop a strong anti-war sentiment and spoke to his fellow comrades about rallying against another George W. Bush term once he was stationed in Afghanistan. This disapproval grew when he met outspoken MIT professor Noam Chomsky, who could have helped elevate Tillman’s voice as a veteran against wars once he had completed his tour. Word about the veteran’s anti-imperialism stance spread, and government officials are believed to have ordered Tillman’s assassination under the guise of friendly fire.
According to the Army’s initial reports, Tillman was shot three times in the forehead and killed in an ambush near the Pakistan border on April 22, 2004. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense found that his death was caused when a platoon he was a part of was divided in two and shot at each other by mistake when an explosive went off nearby.The lieutenant general withheld details on Tillman’s death from his family for several months.
But army doctors who conducted the autopsy found the shots on Tillman’s forehead were too close together, suggesting he was murdered from a shooter a couple of yards away from him by an M-16 rifle, which the military does not use as a weapon. There were reports that snipers were in the second platoon group who used the explosive device to create chaos as the opportune time to shoot Tillman. No evidence of enemy fire was found, and no other soldier was injured or shot on the scene. Doctors who conducted the autopsy released a report to AP about their suspicion that the veteran was murdered, and that an investigation should begin immediately.
Three years later, on March 26, 2007, the Pentagon released a statement saying, “None of the investigations suggested that CPL Tillman’s death was anything other than accidental. Our review, as well as the investigation recently completed by Army CID, obtained no evidence contrary to those key findings.” His mother, Mary Tillman, commented, “”Nothing is going to bring Pat back. It’s about justice for Pat and justice for other soldiers. The nation has been deceived.”
The Obama administration has continued this war on whistleblowers, most notably with the detainment of Army soldier Bradley Manning who passed on classified government cables to shine light on war crimes and human rights violations all over the world. Tillman was approaching as a notable war opponent who would have brought his anti-war message home if he had not been gunned down by the U.S. Army.
So as we commemorate men and women who have given their lives in armed forces, we must question the legitimacy of the government that subjected Tillman and thousands of others to war in the first place. We must recognize the global bloodshed continuing to take place at the hands American imperialism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and other countries beyond. The troops must be brought home, and with the solidarity of veterans and servicemembers, we must bring an end to all wars.
- G. RazoClick here for an updated list of The People’s Record’s Memorial Day dedications. We’ll be adding to and updating the list for the rest of the evening.
(Source: thepeoplesrecord)
In its policies in Bahrain, the US government slams the Arabs in the face many times. First, it assumes that Arabs are idiots and that they won’t notice that the US is applying different standards for oppression in Syria and Bahrain.
Secondly, it tries to insult the intelligence of the Bahraini people by rationalizing its arms sales to Bahrain under the pretext that it wants to empower the “reformist” crown prince.
Thirdly, the US government basically reveals that not only does it not support democracy in the region – and it never will. It also shows that it will fight democracy tooth and nail when any of its clients face a direct threat, especially if the threatened client possesses gas or oil.
– US Chutzpah on Bahrain by As’ad AbuKhalil (via stay-human) Via shifting sands of the open desertThe attack, which struck in the early hours of Saturday, is the third in three days.
(Source: thepeoplesrecord)
About me
It's time to wake up. Our planet cannot afford us not to.
