Anyone who’s been paying attention should get the picture by now. Overall, in subtle and sledgehammer ways, the mass media of the United States—owned and sponsored by corporate giants—are in the midst of a siege against the two progressive Democratic candidates who have a real chance to be elected president in 2020. Continue reading
In an interview with the Associated Press, US Attorney General William Barr put all conspiracy theories to rest once and for all by assuring the world that alleged sex trafficker and alleged billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s death was simply the result of a very, very, very long series of unfortunate coincidences. Continue reading
Today is GivingTuesday but let’s make December GivingNewsdays to raise the crucial funds that keep Intrepid Report publishing, along with all the other news sites that value independence and freedom, that don’t take advertising, don’t have paywalls and don’t receive funding from foundations or corporations. Continue reading
The world is currently mired in massive malfeasance in office by senior government officials, including heads of state and government, who are more interested in personal gain than in government service. Mixed in with financial and political scandals in dozens of nations is the specter of some government officials being involved in illegal sexual activities with underage individuals. Continue reading
The three smartest words that Donald Trump uttered during his presidential campaign are “NATO is obsolete.” His adversary, Hillary Clinton, retorted that NATO was “the strongest military alliance in the history of the world.” Now that Trump has been in power, the White House parrots the same worn line that NATO is “the most successful Alliance in history, guaranteeing the security, prosperity, and freedom of its members.” But Trump was right the first time around: Rather than being a strong alliance with a clear purpose, this 70-year-old organization that is meeting in London on December 4 is a stale military holdover from the Cold War days that should have gracefully retired many years ago. Continue reading
Turkey, the increasingly wayward NATO member, has been making more national and international headlines than usual. Continue reading
He’s maybe the most dangerous politician of my lifetime. He’s helped transform the Republican Party into a cult, worshiping at the altar of authoritarianism. He’s damaged our country in ways that may take a generation to undo. The politician I’m talking about, of course, is Mitch McConnell. Continue reading
Tomorrow is GivingTuesday but let’s make December GivingNewsdays to raise the crucial funds that keep Intrepid Report publishing, along with all the other news sites that value independence and freedom, that don’t take advertising, don’t have paywalls and don’t receive funding from foundations or corporations. Continue reading
The persecution of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning is all about waging war on truth-telling, about wanting journalism the way it’s supposed to be silenced, about wanting high crimes of state concealed—about creeping fascist tyranny over peace, equity and justice. Continue reading
As Americans sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, Iraqis were mourning 40 protesters killed by police and soldiers on Thursday in Baghdad, Najaf and Nasiriyah. Nearly 400 protesters have been killed since hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets at the beginning of October. Human rights groups have described the crisis in Iraq as a “bloodbath,” Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi has announced he will resign, and Sweden has opened an investigation against Iraqi Defense Minister Najah Al-Shammari, who is a Swedish citizen, for crimes against humanity. Continue reading
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday asked voters to question why U.S. politicians and pundits only consider the cost of government programs when those programs help the public and least fortunate—and ignore price tags on policies that benefit the most wealthy and powerful. Continue reading
“I don’t want my taxes to increase”; “I don’t want to lose my current insurance”; “I don’t want the government involved in or interfering in my health care”. Continue reading
In a word, he wasn’t “our guy” in La Paz, Bolivia’s political capital. Continue reading
Bloomberg says he wants to stop Donald Trump but he’s really running to stop Bernie Sanders. Continue reading
Corporations’ quest for profits is what “is driving up drug prices and nothing more.” Continue reading
Once again, it’s been a hard, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning kind of year. Continue reading
It is hardly shocking that the United States government has finally decreed that illegal Jewish settlements which have been built in defiance of international law, are, somehow, “consistent” with international law. Continue reading
It’s that time of year again, a time to give thanks to the white men who perilously crossed the ocean to discover America. Along with this discovery came the genocide and the murder of tens of thousands of indigenous people who never realized that these white men discovered the land they had been living on, for centuries, until years later when they read about this in our text books. Continue reading
A political writer’s annual Thanksgiving column can be easy to write, or incredibly difficult to put together. It can also be inspiring or banal. The two are probably connected. It’s always a difficult one for me; its quality is a matter of your opinion. But hey, today is Turkey Day and it’s time to talk about being thankful. Please bear with. Continue reading
There is a rather vocal sector of the so-called “progressive left” that has decided it is best to tolerate Donald Trump and his administration’s fascist policies. This is mainly because Trump has made a few narrowly-focused decisions that the pro-Trump “left” happens to support. The Trump decisions that have enamored the faux left include the much-ballyhooed “withdrawal” of U.S. military forces from Syria—actually, some of those forces remain in-country—as well as trash talking NATO and U.S. bilateral military alliances with South Korea and Japan. Continue reading
There’s no ambiguity about events in Bolivia after Evo Morales’ October 20 democratic reelection. Continue reading
Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York’s mayors since 1942, hosted billionaire Michael Bloomberg for three terms. Continue reading
The recent coup d’état in Bolivia that overthrew President Evo Morales was not merely a standard right-wing putsch aided and abetted by the US Central Intelligence Agency but also placed into power politicians affiliated with a rising fundamentalist Protestant movement in Latin America that can be termed “Christo-fascist.” Many of the far-right and out-of-the-mainstream Protestant sects that have gained power in Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, and, now, Bolivia have decried traditional Roman Catholicism in Latin America as heretical to their religious ideology and even pro-Communist. As for mainstream Protestant religions, the fundamentalist sects view them as hopelessly liberal, as well as heretical. Continue reading
While the Democratic presidential candidates are debating full Medicare for All, giant insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare are advertising to the elderly in an attempt to lure them from Traditional Medicare (TM) to the so-called Medicare Advantage (MA)—a corporate plan that UnitedHealthcare promotes to turn a profit at the expense of enrollees. Continue reading
As Britain gears up for what is arguably the most important general election, one poised to decide the nation’s future for generations to come, voter enthusiasm is at an all-time low. Continue reading
Years ago, a Texas legislator who was occasionally known to take lobbyists’ cash in exchange for a vote, explained his ethical framework as opportunistic: “I seen my chances, and I took ‘em.” Continue reading
“Dirty hands” in literature results when a leader encounters a conflict of duties with values and must choose between alternatives, none of which are entirely satisfactory. In Jean-Paul Sartre’s play Les Mains Sales (Dirty hands), Communist leader Hoederer explains his view to the bourgeois, Hugo, who has joined the Proletarian Party in the fictive East European country of Illyria at the end of World War Two. Despite his love and admiration for Hoederer and the model he makes, Hugo is steadfast in his refusal to “dirty” his hands. Continue reading
In cahoots with the Trump regime, Britain is killing Assange slowly for the “crime” of truth-telling journalism the way it’s supposed to be. Continue reading
By all means, let’s talk about impeachment. Continue reading
An Israeli attack on Gaza was imminent, and not because of any provocations by Palestinian groups in the besieged, impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli military escalation was foreseeable because it factors neatly in Israel’s contentious political scene. The war was not a question of “if,” but “when.” Continue reading
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End the wars, win the antiwar vote
Hard data shows ending our wars would be smart politics—and the first step toward repairing a moral calamity.
Posted on December 4, 2019 by Peter Certo
Like anyone else who was around that day, I can tell you exactly where I was on 9/11. Continue reading →