I watched Dr Strangelove the other day. I have seen it perhaps a dozen times; it makes sense of senseless news. When Major TJ “King” Kong goes “toe to toe with the Rooskies” and flies his rogue B52 nuclear bomber to a target in Russia, it’s left to General “Buck” Turgidson to reassure the president. Strike first, says the general, and “you got no more than 10-20 million killed, tops”. President Merkin Muffley: “I will not go down in history as the greatest mass murderer since Adolf Hitler.” General Turgidson: “Perhaps it might be better, Mr President, if …
It is a sea change, the kind of transformation that the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter said was caused by “gales of creative destruction.” In his model, systems change when new ideas, products, and technologies bring about the destruction of the old.
Amazing, sitting at a Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland, as part of the Linus Pauling Memorial Lectures … “bringing to Oregon’s cultural community the leading-edge thinkers – the scholarly, intellectual explorers. These are the risk takers willing to challenge the currently accepted norms of how we understand ourselves and our role as participants in the universe. The annual series is …
On 14 April 2014 NATO issued a “fact sheet” titled, “Russia’s Accusations – setting the record straight.” In the course of setting the record straight, the NATO fact sheet made the following false assertion: “Russian officials claim that US and German officials promised in 1990 that NATO would not expand into Eastern and Central Europe, build military infrastructure near Russia’s borders or permanently deploy troops there.”
“No such pledge was made, and no evidence to back up Russia’s claims has ever been produced.” (My emphasis.)
We know that this assertion by NATO is false, thanks to a 26 November 2009 article …
Statistics are the magic, and the manna, of the economist. They are less reliable than weather forecasts; the meteorologist has a better chance of forecasting rainfall than an economist of forecasting economic growth. Things get even more testy over the issue of Gross Domestic Product, that great calculator of a nation’s economic output. The proof, in this case, lies outside the pudding, rather than in it.
A suitable illustration of this statistical gazing comes in the form of assessing Nigerian economic performance. For one, the recent rebasing of its performance seemed to take other countries in the …
At the low point of the farcical ‘peace’ process stalemate, President Mahmoud Abbas signed, on Tuesday 1st April 2014, letters of accession to 15 multilateral treaties and conventions, (a right gained following Palestine’s upgrade to Observer State status by the UN General Assembly back in November 2012) in defiance of Israel’s refusal to release 30 pre-Oslo prisoners on 29 March 2014.
Instead, once ratified, Palestinians should look forward to a mass release of political prisoners detained by the Palestinian Authority (PA) headed by the unelected Mahmoud Abbas.
Al Haq estimates that there are 60 political prisoners in PA detention centres where …
Americans need to understand that they have lost their country. The rest of the world needs to recognize that Washington is not merely the most complete police state since Stalinism, but also a threat to the entire world. The hubris and arrogance of Washington, combined with Washington’s huge supply of weapons of mass destruction, make Washington the greatest threat that has ever existed to all life on the planet. Washington is the enemy of all humanity.
—Paul Craig Roberts
Roberts’ newest book, How America was Lost (463 pages, from Clarity Press, 2014) is a compendium of 135 columns (bracketed by an …
Human-caused climate change may already be out of control, as suggested in recent reports by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), confirming that a “tipping point” may already have arrived (1) with warming of the Arctic and (2) with excessive levels of CO2 causing acidification in the ocean, thereby threatening the existence of both human and marine life.
Likewise, it is common knowledge that fossil fuel emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) cause these problems. This, therefore, prompts the question of what can be done about the cause of global warming. If nothing, then the nascent extinction event we are already …
NOTE: Radioactive slurry tanks are leaking at Hanford, WA, workers at Fukushima are dying, Chernobyl is the gift that keeps on giving as a million have died from that disaster, Obama is pushing nuclear energy (sic), along with Whole Earth Catalog creator Stewart Brand — look at this piece of shit, here…
and Japan and Australia and all the same usual suspects in the transfinancial continuing criminal enterprise cartel, and, even guys like Gaia Theory James Lovelock, well, isn’t that just great, uh, as we pause and recommit to not …
Not only is Guantanamo Bay an illicit torture and concentration camp for alleged terrorists, but numerous legitimately recognized legal scholars have called into question the continued acceptance for the US government to still be occupying its military enclave there. Additionally, many of the purported “terrorist” poor unfortunates who continue to reside there were actually individuals who were picked up in avaricious sweeps — by less than utterly scrupulous people — in return for bounties/reward money. The government of Cuba, of course, thinks that the US has far overstayed its welcome and is certainly in contravention of international laws and standards …
Portions of the UN’s forthcoming human rights report on Crimea, to be released Tuesday, have been leaked to Foreign Policy magazine, and its findings are far from objective. Indicating yet another instance of institutional bias against the Russian Federation and its interests, Ivan Simonovic, the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, has filled the so-called report with bias, misleading reporting, important omissions, one-sided analysis, and in some cases, outright false statements. Considering his history of “biased, prejudiced and nonobjective assessment”, this should not come as a surprise, but it is surprising that such opinions are …
Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Ze’ev Elkin, is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his predominantly right wing cabinet. In a recent interview with The Economist, Elkin used the familiar tone of being conceited and oblivious to such notions as international or human rights, and reaffirmed his rejection of a Palestinian state.
Instead, Elkin wants Israel to annex a chunk of the West Bank. There is nothing new here, as such language is now official Israeli discourse. But one statement stood out, one that many Palestinians would find bewildering and exasperating.
These days, said Elkin with a chuckle, the West Bank …
“Oh my God, I’m back. I’m home. All the time, it was… We finally really did it! You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!”
That’s the dialogue that accompanies the final scene of the classic movie Planet of the Apes, starring the fine actor Charlton Heston. As Heston’s character (Taylor) finally escapes from Ape Society, he is seen riding a horse along a beach with his female, human companion. A wide shadow appears in front of the horse Heston is riding and he is seen dismounting. He then falls to his knees overcome …
by The Real News Network (TRNN) / April 16th, 2014
Nicolai Petro, professor of politics at the University of Rhode Island: Ukrainian officials are using this first military move as political tool to garner more public support, as groups labeled pro-Russian truly want federalism, not succession, in order to protect eastern Ukraine’s autonomy.
Not two months into the reign of Pope Francis did the media begin its musings over the possibility that the Pontiff would revitalize a church in decline—and it’s clear now that transformation of a kind is on the agenda.
He’s been called progressive, but a step short of reformist—so far. Without budging much from Catholic doctrine, his position on abortion and LGBT rights seems to some optimistically ambiguous—enough so that speculation has prompted some observers to call him a radical. “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will,” he says, “who am I to judge?” These words—famously …
Egypt is forming an economic dependence on funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE that spells economic disaster for the vast majority of ordinary Egyptians who will be left paying the price.
As Egypt inches towards the first anniversary of the July 3 overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, the economy continues to flounder. The military-backed government promised stability, but it won’t deliver this through reverting to failed Mubarak-era policies and relying on handouts from Gulf Security Council (GCC) states.
Despite loud media support for the military government, discontent is high. Ongoing gas shortages and power outages, as well as anger over a …
Taxation for what, for whom, for them, for gutted and eviscerated communities via nihilism vis-a-vis the entire casino capitalism and its banksters …?
NPR rarely hits it right, but while working at my “other” job with developmentally disabled adults, I heard this piece on a singer-doctor-multilingual social justice thinker. It was okay, for NPR, but the interview accidentally culled a piece around new urbanism, the poor, the greenie weenie, Coder creeps I rail against ALL the time.
Note that Rupa Marya is one of those special individuals who sees the world from a generous view. Something apropos now since it is …
There is an argument for not politically splitting the territory of a small island. But when the advantages are examined, as some of them are here, it becomes clear that the proposed independence for Scotland will bring about a win-win situation. A win for Scottish citizens and a win for English citizens.
On September 18th, 2014 the Scottish people will vote on achieving independence from the government of Westminster. If successful, a Scottish government will be free to honour the wishes of the people. It will be able to rid itself of the appalling risks from the retention of nuclear weapons …
Fifteen years ago, it was possible to pretend the U.S. government opposed torture. Then it became widely known that the government tortured. And it was believed (with whatever accuracy) that officials had tried to keep the torturing secret. Next it became clear that nobody would be punished, that, in fact, top officials responsible …
The darkness to which I refer is something largely unanticipated in political studies and even in science fiction, a field which definitely enters this discussion, as readers will see. There have been many examples of national tyrannies and even stories of global autocracies, but the Hitler-Stalin-Mussolini type of tyranny is an antiquated model for advanced states despite its applying still to many third-world places. A unique set of circumstances now works towards a dystopian future in advanced states with no need for jackboots or brutal faces on posters.
Ironically, one of the key forces which brought Europe and North America over …
It has been a long, meandering migration — and, of course, many, many have died and much has been destroyed along the way. But when chickens finally come home to roost, they don’t do so one at a time. Rather, it is a massive, simultaneous event, like swallows to Capistrano or Monarchs to Mexico. A cataclysm has erupted over Ukraine, a thundering eclat of global import, and there is no stopping it now. Sure, the dust has yet to settle, and it is still difficult to see the forest for the trees. But my eyes need a break from following …
I’ve been meaning to fix up the bio-sketch below. Certainly, fix the age 56, since I hit 57 two months ago. Born in 1957, now 57 witnessing another lunar eclipse, and the great eclipsing of humanity by algorithmic putzes and their masters: too-big-to-fail multinationals and transfinancials and a media that are so whore-fied, that, well, the new Black is Orange.
Today the 3,000 richest Americans make more than the poorest 23 million. The average McDonald’s employee takes seven months to earn what McDonald’s CEO makes in an hour. Ninety percent of …
There must be something in the water at No 10 Downing Street, currently inhabited by Prime Minister David Cameron.
When Tony Blair was in residence, according to the diaries of his former communications director, Alastair Campbell, before the illegal invasion of Iraq, for which Blair’s Downing Street offices produced fantasy, fictional, false justifications, the then Prime Minister was guided by his faith and regularly spoke to “his Maker.” Blair may have “spoken” – but, as ever, he clearly didn’t listen.
Proverbs (6:16-19) rules on six personality traits his “Maker” abhors and seven that are an abomination to Him: “Haughty eyes, a lying …
Taxpayers are paying billions of dollars for a swindle pulled off by the world’s biggest banks, using a form of derivative called interest-rate swaps; and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has now joined a chorus of litigants suing over it.
Derivatives . . . have turned into a windfall for banks and a nightmare for taxpayers. . . . While banks are still collecting fixed rates of 3 to 6 percent, they are now regularly paying public entities as little as a tenth of one percent on the outstanding bonds, with rates expected to remain low …
In a 1971 memo, Lewis Powell, then a corporate lawyer and soon to be a Supreme Court Justice, stressed the need for change in how the business community participated in politics. That memo was in response to numerous successful efforts that advanced the public interest in many areas.
Since Powell’s memo, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and other wealthy and powerful groups and individuals have staged a slow-motion takeover of our government. These oligarchs, through their money, have corrupted all branches of government as well as many of the regulatory agencies. This corruption has led to …
UK's Ed Miliband the latest Western politician "taken in"
by Stuart Littlewood / April 12th, 2014
Ed Miliband, UK Labour Party leader and younger brother of former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband David Miliband, has just been on a visit to Israel and occupied Palestine. Ed, who is Jewish, is a wannabe prime minister. And he may succeed in taking the top job next year if Agent Cameron continues annoying the voting public.
A BBC report tells us that Miliband and his wife Justine “were shown where the rockets are fired which rain down on this Israeli town of Sderot.
“They visited a playgroup which looks like many you would see in the UK, until …
Edward Snowden’s revelations on the voracious appetite of spying on all and sundry by the National Security Agency and allied agencies should not give pause for too much comment, other than to affirm a general premise: activists and non-government groups are to be feared. Non-profits are seen as potential threats, though what to is sometimes unclear. Any government worth its salt should be afraid of its citizens – the latter must make the former accountable; the former must hold to the contractual bargain with citizens.
Earlier this week, Snowden revealed to members of the Council …
Troy: [a “gay,” played by Dave Foley]: You know, I asked him [Adam, played by Brendan Fraser] about that. He said, good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them. See, I didn’t know that, I thought it was just a way of acting all superior. Oh and you know what else he told me?
Eve: [played by Alicia Silverstone] What?
Troy: He thinks I’m a gentleman and you’re a lady.
Eve: (disgusted) Well, consider the source! I don’t even know what a lady is.
Marxist aesthetics has yet to ask: What are the qualities of art which transcend the specific social content and form and give art its universality?
—Herbert Marcuse ((All cited quotations in this essay are from: Herbert Marcuse, The Aesthetic Dimension: Toward a Critique of Marxist Aesthetics (Boston: Beacon Press, 1978).))
Is there any role for classic-humanist literature in the moral/spiritual outlook of 21st century socialists? There certainly was for the leading 19th century socialist: Marx constantly reread and studied such authors as Aeschylus, Shakespeare, and Balzac, and his writings are sprinkled with forceful quotations ranging from Homer to Jonathan Swift. …
Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger’s op-ed “Global Warming Scare Tactics” was published in the New York Times on April 8. Participants in recent debates over climate change may recognize their names. They’re the guys who run the Breakthrough Institute, a pseudo-contrarian “environmental research organization.”
Nordhaus and Shellenberger co-founded the Apollo Alliance in 2003, a worthy effort to unite organized labor, social justice advocates, civil rights activists, and environmentalists behind increased public spending on renewable energy. They followed up a year later with “The Death of Environmentalism” (initially, and importantly, presented to a gathering of environmental organization funders).
I doubt where the official numbers come from, those that say that Ukraine is evenly divided between those who support the West, and those who feel their identity is closely linked with Russia.
Maybe this might be the case in western Ukraine, in Lvov, or even in the capital, Kiev. But western Ukraine has only a few key cities. The majority of people in this country of around 44 million are concentrated in the south, east and southeast, around the enormous industrial and mining centers of Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoi Rog.
There is Odessa in the south, and Kharkov, “the second capital,” …
