Tell Congress to say NO to a War on Syria
The neocon war criminals who took the U.S. into an illegal and disastrous war in Iraq are back - and demanding a Syria War.
The Shock and Awe bombing of Baghdad in 2003 that launched the disastrous Iraq War. We say No!
Attacking Syria won't reduce the violence - it will only escalate it with devastating consequences for Syrians and Americans, as we learned so painfully in Iraq.
The U.S. invasion of Iraq killed 100,000 to 600,000 Iraqi civilians. For Americans, the invasion killed 4,486 U.S. troops and wounded 32,223. Of the 2.3 million U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, roughly 20% suffer from PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury, and hundreds commit suicide each year. For returning troops and their loved ones, the war is never over.
Tell Congress: No Syria War!
Economically, the U.S. absolutely cannot afford war with Syria. The Iraq War cost the U.S. economy $3 trillion and helped cause the Great Recession of 2008, which has not ended.
The Shock and Awe bombing of Baghdad in 2003 that launched the disastrous Iraq War. We say No!
Attacking Syria won't reduce the violence - it will only escalate it with devastating consequences for Syrians and Americans, as we learned so painfully in Iraq.
The U.S. invasion of Iraq killed 100,000 to 600,000 Iraqi civilians. For Americans, the invasion killed 4,486 U.S. troops and wounded 32,223. Of the 2.3 million U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, roughly 20% suffer from PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury, and hundreds commit suicide each year. For returning troops and their loved ones, the war is never over.
Tell Congress: No Syria War!
Economically, the U.S. absolutely cannot afford war with Syria. The Iraq War cost the U.S. economy $3 trillion and helped cause the Great Recession of 2008, which has not ended.
Bradley Manning’s sentence: Another signal from the authoritarian Security State
Bradley Manning, whistleblower, leaker of "classified" information, who was held for about 3 years in pre-trial detention by the Obama government, over a year of which was spent in torturous conditions, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. It is a travesty of justice.
Daniel Ellsberg of "Pentagon Papers" fame contends that "the Manning Conviction is the Beginning of a Police State" (Link to article).
Norman Solomon, whose article is also on commondreams.org writes that the government's incarceration of Manning is to break the spirit of Bradley Manning and submits "an open leader to President Obama."
Bradley Manning himself wrote an open letter describing his intentions in releasing hundreds of thousands of classified files. He did it knowing the possible penalties and personal costs, but acted anyway for the public good and against misbegotten government policies. You can find the letter on the internet at Common Dreams today (8-22-13).
Daniel Ellsberg of "Pentagon Papers" fame contends that "the Manning Conviction is the Beginning of a Police State" (Link to article).
Norman Solomon, whose article is also on commondreams.org writes that the government's incarceration of Manning is to break the spirit of Bradley Manning and submits "an open leader to President Obama."
Bradley Manning himself wrote an open letter describing his intentions in releasing hundreds of thousands of classified files. He did it knowing the possible penalties and personal costs, but acted anyway for the public good and against misbegotten government policies. You can find the letter on the internet at Common Dreams today (8-22-13).
Mainstream media icons defend conviction and murder of investigative journalists without trial
Mainstream writers are obviously feeling their loss of prestige, power and authority. Two weekend incidents illustrate the condescension and outright bloodthirstiness that lurks in the deaths of some of their minds. A senior national reporter for Time Magazine exhorted the government to extrajudicially murder Julian Assange via drone strike while a reporter at the UK Observer Magazine, conflated “journalist” with “hacker” and “charged” with “convicted.” The Observer is a weekly news magazine owned by the Guardian. One case displays a callous disregard for human life, the other a seemingly reckless disregard for the truth.
King’s unfinished symphony of freedom
Next weekend, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, best known for Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Dream.”
Fifty years later, the dream challenges us yet. It is alive because it is not static. The dream of equal rights and equal opportunity, of being judged for character, not color, has transformed this nation. Much progress has been forged; much remains to be done.
One way to think about the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King’s Dream is as a symphony of freedom. The first movement was the movement to end slavery, which required the bloodiest war in American history. Then came the drive to end segregation, the disfiguring legal apartheid of the South. In that victory, the movement freed not only African-Americans but also the South to grow, and opened access to libraries and hotels, trains and restaurants, pools and parks. Rosa Parks could sit wherever she wanted to on that bus.
Fifty years later, the dream challenges us yet. It is alive because it is not static. The dream of equal rights and equal opportunity, of being judged for character, not color, has transformed this nation. Much progress has been forged; much remains to be done.
One way to think about the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King’s Dream is as a symphony of freedom. The first movement was the movement to end slavery, which required the bloodiest war in American history. Then came the drive to end segregation, the disfiguring legal apartheid of the South. In that victory, the movement freed not only African-Americans but also the South to grow, and opened access to libraries and hotels, trains and restaurants, pools and parks. Rosa Parks could sit wherever she wanted to on that bus.
Declassification: Did it just happen by accident?
In an August 15 Rolling Stone interview, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) made what appeared to be an inadvertent disclosure of some of the contents a classified intelligence committee document. Buried at the back of the article was a question about the role of contractors. The question was open ended and seemed refer to wiretapping of the American public. But Wyden decided to talk about torture. “One that is going to be part of an upcoming debate, I hope, which is something Senator Udall and I and others are pushing, is to declassify that report on torture. I think it will give us new momentum for drawing a sharp line on the contractor issue . . . and I think when Americans get to read about the role of contractors in some of those interrogations, they're going to share our view,” he said.
Stop and Frisk
Stopping crime before it happens is a great idea, but stopping young men for “walking while black” — touted by true believers as the same thing — is a game played by an occupying army.
The tactic is called stop-and-frisk. As practiced by many police departments, including New York’s, it amounts to blatant racial profiling. Stop-and-frisk makes it impossible for young men of color to lead normal lives, to walk outside without fear of preemptive police harassment. The long-term hatred and tension it engenders does far more harm to a community than all the questionable good that proponents ascribe to it. Security based on racism is a sham.
So I join in the celebration of Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling Monday in Manhattan’s Federal District Court, declaring the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional. She accused the city of “checkpoint-style policing” in minority communities and wrote in her decision, according to the New York Times [2]: “Blacks are likely targeted for stops based on a lesser degree of objectively founded suspicion than whites.”
The tactic is called stop-and-frisk. As practiced by many police departments, including New York’s, it amounts to blatant racial profiling. Stop-and-frisk makes it impossible for young men of color to lead normal lives, to walk outside without fear of preemptive police harassment. The long-term hatred and tension it engenders does far more harm to a community than all the questionable good that proponents ascribe to it. Security based on racism is a sham.
So I join in the celebration of Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling Monday in Manhattan’s Federal District Court, declaring the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional. She accused the city of “checkpoint-style policing” in minority communities and wrote in her decision, according to the New York Times [2]: “Blacks are likely targeted for stops based on a lesser degree of objectively founded suspicion than whites.”
The unasked questions about the NSA's internal audit
In what might be it's last gasp of investigative national security reporting before the finalizing of Jeff Bezos' CIA sponsored buyout, the Washington Post released an NSA internal audit from 2012 detailing thousands of violations of the FISA and other laws and regulations governing surveillance of Americans. Despite revealing literally thousands of instances of unauthorized collection that violated the law, the report whitewashed at least one seemingly deliberate violation. The Washington Post story failed to catch this that this operator error appears to have happened by design.
Mr. Holder signals a slow troop withdrawal from the War on Drugs
Last week Attorney General Eric Holder delivered an unprecedented speech concerning America’s oldest war. Perhaps hoping to carve out a positive legacy that works to bring an end to the War on Drugs, Holder has undoubtedly initiated a step in the right direction.
Speaking at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco, the head of the Department of Justice did not hesitate in displaying his thoughts about our justice system. The stentorian sounds of jaws dropping across the room would ordinarily account for a news report in itself, but the speech’s content was truly unsurpassable on the day.
Speaking at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco, the head of the Department of Justice did not hesitate in displaying his thoughts about our justice system. The stentorian sounds of jaws dropping across the room would ordinarily account for a news report in itself, but the speech’s content was truly unsurpassable on the day.