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Target Iran: What Bombing Syria Is Really About

Amid the increased likelihood that President Barack Obama will cave in to pressure from foreign policy hawks to “Libya-ize” Syria and to accord Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the same treatment meted out to Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the main question is WHY? Obviously, there is concern about the human rights catastrophe in Syria, but is the main target Syria’s main ally, Iran, as many suspect?

Surely, the objective has got to be more than simply giving Secretary of State John Kerry a chance to brag, in the manner of his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, regarding Gaddafi, “We came, we saw, he died.” And, there is little expectation – however many Cruise missiles the United States fires at Syrian targets in a fury over disputed claims about chemical weapons – that lives are likely to be saved.

So, what are Iran’s new leaders likely to see as the real driving force behind Obama’s felt need to acquiesce, again, in a march of folly? And why does it matter?

What the Assault on Whistleblowers Has to Do With War on Syria

Without whistleblowers, the mainline media outlets are more transfixed than ever with telling the official story. And at a time like this, the official story is all about spinning for war on Syria.

Every president who wants to launch another war can’t abide whistleblowers. They might interfere with the careful omissions, distortions and outright lies of war propaganda, which requires that truth be held in a kind of preventative detention.

By mid-week, media adrenalin was at fever pitch as news reports cited high-level sources explaining when the U.S. missile attacks on Syria were likely to begin, how long they might last, what their goals would be. But what about other (potential) sources who have documents and other information that contradict the official story?

It’s never easy for whistleblowers to take the risk of exposing secret realities. At times like these, it’s especially difficult -- and especially vital -- for whistleblowers to take the chance.

Stand up for Cincinnati

What do you call a proposal that breaks promises to city workers, destroys their family’s hard earned retirement security, lowers the city’s tax base, harms our fragile economy and actually requires the city of Cincinnati to pay out more in retiree funds?

In this case, the tiny group of wealthy financiers, tea party supporters and out of town petitioners sponsoring this ridiculous proposal are calling it by the misleading name of “Cincinnatians for Pension Reform” (CPR). However, unlike the medical procedure by the same name, this one would kill its patient!

WHO IS BEHIND CPR?

If you said; “It can’t be Cincinnatians, our own home town folks would never push something this bad, then you are actually right on the money!

What about the 7,000 signatures filed by the so-called “Cincinnatians for Pension Reform?” Actually, that phony group paid nearly $70,000 to the California Company Arno Petition Consultants to bring in and put up out of town petitioners in order for them to collect the signatures needed to qualify for ballot status.

Post-Constitutional America - Bob Fitrakis

From 'Democracy Convention II,' held in Madison Wisconsin Aug. 7-11, 2013, this is Bob Fitrakis' address at the closing plenary of the Election Protection section of the Convention, organized by Victoria Collier and Ben Ptashnik.
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Bangkok TV soap opera attracts Muslim anger and scrutiny

BANGKOK, Thailand -- A TV station in Buddhist-majority Thailand has agreed to allow government-approved "Islamic experts" to revise a soap opera script after a small but vocal Muslim group complained that the show misrepresents their religion.

The soap opera "Fah Jarod Sai" or "Where the Sky Meets the Sand" stars Thai actors in a superficial melodrama portraying an imaginary Arab-style royal officer who falls in love with a girl who is half-Thai, half-French, in a fantasy kingdom named Hinfara.

On August 22, a small, outspoken Bangkok-based group, Muslims for Peace, demanded Channel 7 cancel the series.

On August 24, in response, Channel 7's executives met Thailand's moderate Muslim spiritual leader Aziz Phitakkumpon, who is the "Chularatchamontri" or State Counselor for Islamic Affairs, which is an advisory position approved by the prime minister and appointed by the king.

It was not announced whether or not the Chularatchamontri and his office's Muslim colleagues also objected to the soap opera.

The Muslims for Peace presented their complaint to Bangkok

No Military Coups for America? What About November 1963?

An interesting aspect of the military coup in Egypt has been the attitude of American mainstream commentators who suggest that unlike Egypt and other countries, the chances of a military coup in the United States are virtually nil. See, for example, “America the Coupless” by Rosa Brooks and “Could a Military Coup Happen in America?” by Paul Greenberg.

Really? What about November 22, 1963?

“Oh, Jacob, don’t be silly. President Kennedy’s assassination couldn’t have been orchestrated by the U.S. national-security state, notwithstanding the overwhelming amount of evidence pointing in that direction, because it’s just inconceivable that such a thing could happen here in our country. That’s just a conspiracy theory. Such things only happen in places like Egypt … or Chile … or Iran … or Guatemala … or South Vietnam and, yes, oftentimes with the support and participation of the U.S. military and the CIA, but such a thing could never happen here in our country.”

Buying a gun in Thailand can be expensive

BANGKOK, Thailand -- If you have an itchy trigger finger in Thailand, you need to be relatively wealthy to buy some of the best quality guns which are made in America and avidly collected.

Tourists meanwhile can buy custom-made leather holsters and other accessories at the estimated 80 weapons stores along Burapha Road, just east of the Sala Chalerm Krung Royal Theatre, where 90 percent of Bangkok's gun shops are located.

Most of the shops have been in business for more than 40 years, and welcome walk-in customers, but may discourage photographs of their deadly arsenals.

"Not many foreigners buy guns in Thailand because the price is really expensive, compared to the U.S. and other countries, because of our importing quota and taxes," says the Firearms Association of Thailand's Director of International Relations, Polpatr Tanomsup.

"Guns are really expensive, so it is considered a sport for the rich. Like cars, and stuff like that. It is like a Louis Vuitton for guys, or a Hermes bag for guys," Polpatr says.

Expats and other foreigners working in Thailand can buy guns, but

The March on Washington through the eyes of a young radical

The March on Washington means many things to many people, but for those of us who were born well after the event, the occasion runs the risk of resembling just another footnote in a textbook. Reading about Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words is one thing, but hearing them in person is something else entirely. Nonetheless, the March on that fateful day in 1963 has meaningful prescriptions that can still resonate today.

The March on Washington represented much more than ‘Jobs and Freedom.’ It was not only a push for equality, but a demand for equality at a time when it was inconvenient to do so. The repression of African Americans in civil society for so long is not something to be brushed aside as a historical note. Deprived of their basic, natural rights, it was not timely to demand the recognition of those rights. Indeed, it would have been much easier to wait until Congress eventually came around to its senses on the matter. That reasoning would not satisfy Martin Luther King Jr.; equality is a cause that does not wait.

Absurdities: A document without an author, a quote without an attribution, and an assurance without proof

The Inuit people are alleged to have dozens of words for snow. While the abuse of the English language continues unchecked in government, journalists covering national security issues need dozens of words to describe the different forms of absurd. Claiming the tail is wagging the dog when you might be viewing a pack of gray wolves against an overcast sky is a fitting metaphor. Regardless of what is the tail, what is the dog, or what is the wolf, two things are clear: German Prime Minister Angela Merkle is willing to accept any absurd justification for American spying on her citizens from NSA head Keith Alexander and ignore any evidence to contrary even if it comes from within her own government.

50 years later: The president’s response

This Wednesday, Aug. 28, on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “Dream” oration, President Barack Obama will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Much of the press is speculating about whether the president can reach the “King standard.” Can he deliver an address with the poetry and the vision that made Dr. King’s speech timeless?

But, I suggest to you that this is the wrong standard by which to measure the president. Barack Obama isn’t the leader of a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He is the leader of the government. The March on Washington 50 years ago was a call by an oppressed people seeking justice. As the call to the march detailed, we marched to “help resolve an American crisis,” a crisis “born of the twin evils of racism and economic deprivation.”

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