Global

This week marks the third anniversary of the 2014 police shooting of unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown ​ in Ferguson, Missouri. Whose Streets? the new documentary about that killing and the resulting civil unrest,​ is being released Aug. 11 in St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles. The young co-directors Sabaah Folayan of L.A. and Damon Davis of St. Louis are both Black and provide an insider, African American perspective in this hard-hitting nonfiction film with its “you are there,” street-level cinematography.

Statement by David Swanson as Director of World Beyond War at DC press conference August 8, 2017. http://davidswanson.org/purposeless-death-in-syria

A wonderful thing about observing and analyzing the human mind is that
there is a seemingly infinite variety of phenomena to observe and
analyze. I sometimes wonder if it is even remotely possible to master
this subject but, even if it is not, at least it provides an unending
source of 'entertainment'.

The phenomenon that I want to discuss in this article is what Anita
McKone and I call the 'magic rat'.

Before proceeding, let me emphasize that the 'magic rat' is an
incredibly dangerous psychological disorder that afflicts most political
and virtually all corporate leaders, notably including those in the
United States, thus rendering them incapable of responding intelligently
and appropriately to the ongoing crises in human affairs. And,
tragically, it afflicts most other people too, which is one reason why
it is difficult to muster a strategic response to these crises, even at
grassroots level.

In describing this disorder, I also want to emphasize that it never
occurs in isolation. Individuals afflicted by this disorder will

There has been surprisingly little media follow-up on the story about the July 25th Dulles Airport arrest of House of Representatives’ employed Pakistani-American IT specialist Imran Awan, who was detained for bank fraud while he was allegedly fleeing to Pakistan.

Pew did a poll in 38 countries asking about various dangers and threats.

Featuring heavy hitters from the realms of cable news and punditry, Politicon - which is to Politics what Comic Con is to superheroes and comic books - took place July 29-30 at the Pasadena Convention Center. This “politi-palooza” attracted prominent speakers, performers and audiences from across the liberal and conservative ends of the spectrum. Highlights of the chattering classes’ chitchat at Politicon included:

“Po-Crazy”

The first panel I attended at what was dubbed “Independence Hall” was entitled “Trump: Genius or Lunatic?” Sally Kohn, an openly gay reliably lefty commentator who has opinionated on Fox News and CNN, moderated the discussion with pro and anti Trump participants. Referring to the president and his state of mind (or lack of), Kohn set the stage for the weekend talkfest by paraphrasing the old Gershwin Brothers’ song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”, quipping: “You say potato, I say ‘po-crazy’.”

Coulter Interruptus: Ersatz Nazis, Real Reds

Thank you for inviting me to speak here. I’m grateful and honored, but it is not an easy task. I’ve spoken on television and to large crowds and to important big shots, but here you are asking me to speak to hundreds of thousands of ghosts and billions of ghosts in waiting. To think about this subject wisely we must keep all of them in mind, as well as those who tried to prevent Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those who survived, those who reported, those who forced themselves to remember over and over in order to educate others.

Perhaps even more difficult is thinking about those who rushed to make all those deaths and injuries happen or who went along unquestioning, and those who do the same today. Nice people. Decent people. People superficially similar to you. People who do not abuse their children or their pets. People perhaps like the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet who was asked last week if he would launch a nuclear attack on China if President Trump ordered him to. His response was a very principled and reasonable yes, he would obey orders.

"President Trump openly called on the Russians to find and release 30,000 Clinton emails during the campaign," said Driesen, a law professor at Syracuse University's College of Law. "Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Kremlin-connected Russians to discuss Russian-gathered materials incriminating Clinton, a meeting all admitted to attending. Furthermore, many Trump aides denied ever meeting with Russians and later admitted that they had when contrary evidence emerged, suggesting that they are hiding something. Trump has financial ties with the Russians going back many years, which may have made him financially beholden to them. Finally, our intelligence services found that Russia had obtained compromising, albeit unverified, salacious material on Trump.

Since the facts show that Trump and his aides invited Russian interference and the Russians did intervene, we need an independent investigation to see whether these things are related, including an investigation of possible financial entanglements predating the election."