A minute after midnight on April 18, the US reimposed coercive economic measures designed to cripple Venezuela’s oil industry. Later that day, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a new sanctions bill on Nicaragua. Meanwhile, Cuba protested the US’s six-decade blockade as talks resumed between the two countries on migration. Also on April 18, … Continue reading “US Reimposes Illegal and Inhumane Oil Sanctions on Venezuela”
Rejecting the Facade: Unveiling the Ecological Toll of War
On Earth Day, prepare for the annual spectacle of U.S. lawmakers donning their environmentalist hats, waxing poetic about their love for the planet while disregarding the devastation their actions wreak. The harsh reality is that alongside their hollow pledges lies a trail of destruction fueled by military aggression and imperial ambitions, all under the guise … Continue reading “Rejecting the Facade: Unveiling the Ecological Toll of War”
Palestine and Iran: American Hegemony as Self-Interest
In the early hours of April 19, Israel carried out its anticipated response to Iran’s April 13 aerial attack on Israel. Though the details are not known at the time of this writing, Israel appears, like Iran, to have done what it felt it needed to do to send the message it needed to send … Continue reading “Palestine and Iran: American Hegemony as Self-Interest”
Speaker Johnson’s Ignominious Betrayal of Americans on Behalf of the War Party
Speaker Johnson’s ignominious betrayal of fiscal sanity might well be the death knell for the GOP. He is apparently risking his speakership on behalf of $95 billion of foreign aid boondoggles that Uncle Sam cannot remotely afford, and which actually provide zero benefit to the homeland security of America. And we do mean zero, as … Continue reading “Speaker Johnson’s Ignominious Betrayal of Americans on Behalf of the War Party”
Warrantless Surveillance Makes a Mockery of the Constitution
“Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference… The Thought Police would get him just the same… the arrests invariably happened at night… In the vast majority of cases there was no trial, no report of the arrest. People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your … Continue reading “Warrantless Surveillance Makes a Mockery of the Constitution”
Cruelty of Language: Leaked NY Times Memo Reveals Anti-Palestinian Bias of US Media
The New York Times coverage of the Israeli carnage in Gaza, like that of other mainstream US media, is a disgrace to journalism. This assertion should not surprise anyone. US media is driven neither by facts nor morality, but by agendas, calculating and power-hungry. The humanity of 120 thousand dead and wounded Palestinians because of … Continue reading “Cruelty of Language: Leaked NY Times Memo Reveals Anti-Palestinian Bias of US Media”
There Is Only One Spaceship Earth
Originally appeared at TomDispatch. I was born on July 20, 1944, barely a year before the world (potentially) ended. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the U.S., which had already been torching Japanese cities from the air, dropped the first atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosions were unlike anything humanity … Continue reading “There Is Only One Spaceship Earth”
This Past Weekend, Iran Changed Everything
On April 13, Iran responded to Israel’s attack on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed seven Iranian officers, including a very senior military official, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, by launching over 300 drones and missiles at Israel from Iranian soil. U.S. officials, according to some reporting, say that four or five ballistic missiles hit … Continue reading “This Past Weekend, Iran Changed Everything”
Trilateral Militarization: From Missiles to Nukes
In the Philippines, the proponents of the trilateral alliance frame it as a response to the “threat of assertive China.” In reality, the unwarranted trilateral alliance seems to be the result of a longstanding US maritime counter-insurgency (COIN) campaign, resting on the work of the US Navy Department and other US interests. The purpose of … Continue reading “Trilateral Militarization: From Missiles to Nukes”
The West Now Wants ‘Restraint’ – After Months of Fueling a Genocide in Gaza
Suddenly, western politicians from US President Joe Biden to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have become ardent champions of “restraint” – in a very last-minute scramble to avoid regional conflagration. Iran launched a salvo of drones and missiles at Israel at the weekend in what amounted a largely symbolic show of strength. Many appear to have been … Continue reading “The West Now Wants ‘Restraint’ – After Months of Fueling a Genocide in Gaza”