For most Americans, the detention center at Guantanamo Bay—once the topic of heated political debate by presidential hopeful Barack Obama but rarely talked about by the incumbent President Obama—has become a footnote in the government’s ongoing war on terror. Continue reading
Recent demonstrations in protest of the rising cost of living have swept across the West Bank. While they are not indicative of a Palestinian version of the ‘Arab Spring,’ they are still an important first step. Continue reading
Every year, the masses commemorate 9/11 without having understanding of the original event or the elite agenda that made it possible. This lack of comprehension persists, even as the world explodes in series of orchestrated “new 9/11s” on the eleven year anniversary of the original crime. Continue reading
The United States has suffered three widely acknowledged military disasters since the end of the Second World War: in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. The American public responded to each crisis by electing new leaders with a mandate to end the wars and avoid new ones. But in each case, our new leaders failed to make the genuine recommitment to peace and diplomacy that was called for. Instead, they allayed the fears of the public by moving American war-making farther into the shadows, deploying the CIA and special operations forces in covert operations and proxy wars, sowing seeds of violence and injustice that would fester for decades and often erupt into conflict many years later. Continue reading
A balanced analysis of the security interests of the United States vis-a-vis Israel requires a careful review of their security interests and the history of their interaction. Continue reading
On 7 September, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced that Canada is suspending all diplomatic relations with Iran, expelling all Iranian diplomats, closing its embassy in Tehran, and authorizing Turkey to act on Canada’s behalf for consular services there. Baird cited Iran’s enmity with Israel and its support of Syria and terrorism. Continue reading
John Baird, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, last Friday announced Canada’s position on Iran, indicating it was shutting down its embassy at the same time expelling all Iranian diplomats. His “talking point”—as all conservatives have—concerned the safety of the embassy staff in Tehran. He returned to this argument several times; however, what truly underlies the Canadian regimes’ position is its inbred Islamaphobia and its sycophantic “wannabe” pretence of being a world power. Continue reading
Last week, an interesting article by Daniel Gordis appeared on Tablemag.com. Gordis, a committed Zionist intellectual, is concerned about the inevitable collapse of the Jewish state and its impact on world Jewry in general and American Jews in particular. Continue reading
Faced with a combination of body blows ranging from spiking prices for maize, import dependent Kenya’s staple food, IMF mandated food subsidy cuts, a foolhardy USA instigated invasion of Somalia, election triggered ethnic warfare and a simmering independence movement by the Muslims in the Mombasa coastal region Kenya is in trouble, serious trouble. Continue reading
With thousands of Shia Muslims killed over the past few years in Pakistan and over 400 murdered in recent months, the killings have practically amounted to genocide, raising more than sectarian alarm bells not only in Pakistan but also across the Muslim world. Continue reading
It was a mere ten years ago that Steven Spielberg’s action film Minority Report, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, offered movie audiences a special effect-laden techno-vision of a futuristic world in which the government is all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful. And if you dare to step out of line, dark-clad police SWAT teams will bring you under control. Continue reading
Early in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, protagonist Winston Smith writes in his diary, “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.” Continue reading
With the final rounds of negotiations sessions planned for September and October, Canada and the EU are closing in on a free trade deal that would go far beyond the reach of NAFTA. Meanwhile, there is growing opposition to the agreement as the whole process has lacked openness, transparency and any public consultations. Continue reading
“Why on earth is the Zionist regime making threats against Iran? How many missiles have they prepared themselves for? 10,000? 20,000? 50,000? 100,000? 150,000 or more?” Continue reading
NEW YORK—In the unending War on Terror, it seems the myth that Muslims were responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Center has to be fed on a daily basis. Ergo, six years ago the New York Police Department (NYPD), at the behest of the CIA, proceeded to intensify this task of Muslim demonizing. After all, we didn’t want to lose our central patsies to what was in effect an “inside job” or “false flag” operation prompted by the Bush administration to start its wars—and further its hegemonic march towards a worldwide empire of defeated but oil-rich countries, feeding our unquenchable thirst for their black gold. Continue reading
Advanced technology now provides government agents and police officers with the ability to track our every move. The surveillance state is our new society. It is here, and it is spying on you, your family and your friends every day. Worse yet, those in control are using life’s little conveniences, namely cell phones, to do much of the spying. And worst of all, the corporations who produce these little conveniences are happy to hand your personal information over to the police so long as their profit margins increase. To put it simply, the corporate-surveillance state is in full effect, and there is nowhere to hide. Continue reading
The discrepancy between Western media on the Middle East and the reality is astounding. Egypt’s Mubarak is a good guy and reliable ally until, presto, he is a bad guy, corrupt, a tyrant, yesterday’s goods. This extreme myopia in the interests of empire is the case across the board. So it should come as no surprise, that ‘Axis of Evil’ Iran, supposedly just itching to build atomic bombs and terrorize one and all, has good relations—getting better all the time—not only with its neighbours, Afghanistan (reconstruction aid plus a new rail link from Herat to the Persian Gulf) and Pakistan (the gas Peace Pipeline), but its not-so-friendly rivals, Saudi Arabia and now Egypt. Continue reading
The world is living through a veritable slow-motion earthquake. If things go according to plan, the US obsession with Afghanistan and Iraq will soon be one of those ugly historical disfigurements that—at least for most Americans—will disappear into the memory hole. Continue reading
The neoconservatives are back with a vengeance. While popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and other Arab countries had briefly rendered them irrelevant in the region, Western intervention in Libya signaled a new opportunity. Now Syria promises to usher a full return of neoconservatives into the Middle East fray. Continue reading
When Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip fatally shot the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the assassination is seen as the event that ushered in the First World War. Within a month, the Great Powers of Europe would become embroiled in a four-year war owing to a web of alliances and treaties: Russia, France, Britain on the one hand; Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires on the other. The US would eventually enter the maelstrom in April 1917 on the side of Britain and the Entente allies against the Central Powers. Continue reading
Obama administration support for Syrian rebels is based on a United Nations authorized report from November 2011. In that document, Syria is accused of committing “crimes against humanity.” The report’s co-author is a board member at a Washington, DC-based think tank that just happens to have the former chairman of ExxonMobil, a consultant for the Saudi Binladin Group, and a former CIA executive on its board of directors. Continue reading
A report published on Sunday in Ha’aretz reveals that US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon has presented Washington’s contingency plans for a possible attack on Iran to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once the nuclear negotiations reach an impasse. Continue reading
At the end of World War One, men rejoiced as “the war to end all wars” appeared to reach its agonizing conclusion. It is hard to imagine, nearly a century on, the sense of relief that must have been felt in the immediate aftermath of that terrible conflict. In the even bigger scheme of things though, putting an end to ‘all’ wars, military or otherwise, was to remain but a distant dream, an idea, sadly, whose time had not yet come. Continue reading
It feels like something sinister has just occurred, but it may be a long time until we figure out just what that was (SEE: Saudi Appointment Suggests Bigger Regional Ambitions). When dealing with the Saudis, nothing is as it seems. Trying to understand the Saudi royal family is something like trying to decipher a hidden code. What does the advancing of Bandar Bush to the top job in Saudi intelligence services really imply? Continue reading
Over the past several months, the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border action plan has taken significant steps forward. This includes efforts to modernize and expand infrastructure at key land ports. In a move that went largely unnoticed, both countries also recently agreed on a statement of privacy principles that will guide information sharing across the border. Meanwhile, a separate joint initiative has been announced which addresses energy and environmental issues. Continue reading
With its foundations irreparably cracked and its edifices of power crumbling, the Ethiopian regime headed by Meles Zenawi is turning more and more to the CIA to make the critical decisions in the ministries of power in the capital Addis Ababa. Continue reading
The widespread killings of Rohingya Muslims in Burma—or Myanmar—have received only passing and dispassionate coverage in most media. What they actually warrant is widespread outrage and decisive efforts to bring further human rights abuses to an immediate halt. Continue reading
The absurdity of the world today is so blinding that we can barely see through the fog to discern what went so wrong. Continue reading
Despite early assurances by Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi, regarding his “commitment to international treaties and agreements,” one can already foretell a likely confrontation between Egypt and Israel. Continue reading
When on Earth are we going to wake up and begin questioning the very nature of our economic and political systems? In June of last year, Conservative Member of Parliament Cecil Parkinson on BBC made the surreal statement, “The capitalists are destroying capitalism.” He stated this with a certain amount of surprise, as if he was saying to himself, “Why are they doing this? Eventually, they will only hurt themselves.” Continue reading
In his autobiography, Dreams From My Fathers, Barack Obama writes of taking a job at some point after graduating from Columbia University in 1983. He describes his employer as “a consulting house to multinational corporations” in New York City, and his functions as a “research assistant” and “financial writer.” Continue reading
In a recent column, “Can The World Survive Washington’s Hubris,” I promised to examine whether the US economy will collapse before Washington in its pursuit of world hegemony brings us into military confrontation with Russia and China. This is likely to be an ongoing subject on this site, so this column will not be the final word. Continue reading
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