Month: May 2011

NIETZSCHE: THOUGHTS & PERSPECTIVES, VOLUME THREE

FRIEDRICH Nietzsche, despite being one of the world’s most brilliant and influential philosophers, is still grossly misrepresented by political theoreticians and court academics alike. His ideas, which are notoriously hard-hitting and uncompromising, have often been used to justify or legitimise anything from capitalist exploitation and social-darwinism right through […]

Book review: Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1870—1940

Review by Wayne Price. ——————————————————————————————————– It is widely believed on the radical left that anarchism has been solely a movement of Europe and North America. Marxists and liberals state that anarchism has never had anything to offer the majority of humanity in the oppressed and impoverished nations (the […]

Chris Hedges on corporate liberalism

From Roderick Long’s blog. This is what I’ve been saying for years: That the Left has sold out to the state-corporate-military power elite in exchange for establishment support for the Left’s social agenda. ———————————————————————————————————– The pillars of the liberal establishment – the press, the church, culture, the university, […]

The Sky Really Is Falling

Article by Chris Hedges. What do our eco-inclined readers make of this? ——————————————————————————————————— The rapid and terrifying acceleration of global warming, which is disfiguring the ecosystem at a swifter pace than even the gloomiest scientific studies predicted a few years ago, has been confronted by the power elite […]

How America Screws Its Soldiers

Article by Andrew Bacevich. —————————————————————————————————— Everyone claims to “Support Our Troops.” But as Andrew J. Bacevich explains, telling the military it can do whatever it wants works for everyone—except for the soldiers themselves. Riders on Boston subways and trolleys are accustomed to seeing placards that advertise research being […]

The 12-Step Plan to Restore American Femininity

Article by Gavin McInnes. ——————————————————————————————————- Like firing a fetus from a slingshot, feminism catapulted women out of the kitchen and onto the streets, where they were invited to do anything a man can do—but better. This was a blessing for the few women meant to lead a man’s […]

For Anarchist, Details of Life as F.B.I. Target

From the New York Times. —————————————————————————————————- A fat sheaf of F.B.I. reports meticulously details the surveillance that counterterrorism agents directed at the one-story house in East Austin. For at least three years, they traced the license plates of cars parked out front, recorded the comings and goings of […]

Democratic Dawn—or Darkness?

Article by Pat Buchanan. ——————————————————————————————————- With the end of the Cold War in 1991, it seemed the world was moving toward unity. The post-Cold War era saw the expansion of the European Union, NAFTA and GATT, the creation of a World Trade Organization, the Rome Treaty for the […]

‘Bibi’ Votes Republican

Article by Pat Buchanan. ——————————————————————————————————– Not since Nikita Khrushchev berated Dwight Eisenhower over Gary Powers’ U-2 spy flight over Russia only weeks earlier has an American president been subjected to a dressing down like the one Barack Obama received from Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. With this crucial difference. […]

Europe: The Rise of the Extreme Right

Article from Newsweek. ——————————————————————————————————– weden has revealed the future direction of Europe, and not for the first time. For decades, Sweden led the way in defining the mixed model of free trade and social solidarity that became the European ideal. Not anymore. In the election this month Swedish […]

The Patriot Act and bipartisanship

Article by Glenn Greenwald. ——————————————————————————————————– Several days ago I noted that Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell had agreed to a four-year extension of the most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act — a bill Democrats everywhere once claimed to revile — without a single reform (despite the long […]

5 Things Nobody Tells You About Being Poor

From Cracked.Com ————————————————————————————————– Being poor is like a game of poker where if you lose, the other players get to fuck you. And if you win, the dealer fucks you. A bunch of you reading this are among the 45 million “working poor” in America, and if you’re […]

Patriot Act Extension Signed By Obama

Article by Jim Abrams. ———————————————————————————————————- Minutes before a midnight deadline, President Barack Obama signed into law a four-year extension of post-Sept. 11 powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists. “It’s an important tool for us to continue dealing with an ongoing terrorist threat,” […]

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince’s Private Army of “Christian Crusaders” in the UAE

Interview with Jeremy Scahill. It’s the likes of Blackwater we will have to fight in the streets when the Revolution comes. ———————————————————————————————————- The United Arab Emirates has confirmed hiring a company headed by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the military firm Blackwater. According to the New York […]

The American Class War to Come

So says Ronald Reagan’s former budget director. See Part One and Part Two —————————————————————————————————— Finally, thanks to Republican policies that let us “live beyond our means for decades by borrowing heavily from abroad, we have steadily sent jobs and production offshore,” while at home “high-value jobs in goods […]

Brace yourself for the summer of 'sluts'

This “sluts’ rights” stuff is getting pretty intense. ——————————————————————————————————- The summer of sluts was kicked off this week when msnbc cable host Ed Schultz, perhaps channeling Dan Aykroyd in his old “Saturday Night Live” debates with Jane Curtin (“Jane, you ignorant slut!”) called conservative radio personality Laura Ingraham […]

The American Power Elite

Glenn Greenwald on David Brooks. Hat tip to David Heleniak. —————————————————————————————————— It has long been the supreme fantasy of establishment guardians in general, and David Brooks in particular, that American politics would be dominated by an incestuous, culturally homogeneous, superior elite “who live in [Washington] and who have […]

He survived Iraq, but was gunned down by the PIGS…

Iraq veteran killed by the S.W.A.T. ——————————————————————————————————– A U.S. Marine who died in a flurry of bullets during a drug raid near Tucson never fired on the SWAT team that stormed his house, a report by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department shows. The revelation was contained in an […]

Reflexive Patriotism, Last Refuge of a Scoundrel Nation

Article by Kirkpatrick Sale. ——————————————————————————————————– Thinking about the hold of this sickness I began to reflect why it was that the movement, though obviously getting stamped on the national consciousness in the last few years and drawing enthusiasm in a number of quarters, has not made more inroads […]

More PIG Shenanigans

Police Brutality and the William Tell Overture The Highway Patrol vs the EMT Thug cop chokeholds CBS reporter Arpaio’s Hog Farm Not as Clean as He Pretends Strip Club at the Police Station Woman Beaten Off Camera

American Hellholes

From The Economic Collapse. Hat tip to Troy Southgate. ——————————————————————————————————— The U.S. economy is dying and we are heading for the next Great Depression. The talking heads in the mainstream media love to spin the economic numbers around and around and they love to make it sound like […]

The Changing Face of the Police and the Death of the Fourth Amendment

Article by John Whitehead. ——————————————————————————————————- In early America, citizens were considered equals with law enforcement officials. Authorities were rarely permitted to enter one’s home without permission or in a deceitful manner. And it was not uncommon for police officers to be held personally liable for trespass when they […]

Highway Robbery

From The Agitator. ——————————————————————————————————– Kudos to Nashville’s News 5 for doing this investigation. Note that even if you buy into this crap—that the drug war is worth fighting, and that asset forfeiture is an essential part of fighting it—the cops are letting the drugs go in order to […]

HOW TO THRIVE (ECONOMICALLY) AS THINGS FALL APART

Article by John Robb. ——————————————————————————————————– The most likely scenario for the next decade starts with the resumption of global economic depression (D2). Economies shrink. Wealth evaporates as former “assets” become worthless. Commodities fall (even energy) due to declines in economic activity. Currencies gyrate, explode, and/or evaporate. In this […]

Intellectual Property: Some Countries Are More Equal Than Others

Article by Kevin Carson. ——————————————————————————————————- For years, global digital copyright treaties and IP provisions of assorted “free trade” agreements have been drafted in secret by proprietary content industries. Even the digital copyright laws of ostensibly independent countries have been drafted by lobbyists from those same industries, and rubber […]

Black Lawyers call on Obama administration to free all US political prisoners

Article by Kali Akuno. ——————————————————————————————————— The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) urges the US to apply international human rights standards to protect and ensure the rights of political prisoners currently incarcerated within its own prison system. NCBL presented the plight of political prisoners in the United States […]

Strauss-Kahn: As Sleazy as the IMF in General

Article by David D’Amato. ——————————————————————————————————– Since the embattled former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has occupied the headlines with some consistency as of late, it seems as good a time as any to note the perfectly legal crimes the IMF perpetrates daily. Without at […]

Obama and the Israel Lobby

Article by Glenn Greenwald. ——————————————————————————————————– This week’s hysterical, reality-deprived reaction to President Obama’s pronouncements on the Israel/Palestine conflict genuinely provoked laughter on several occasions. That happened when I thought of the intense controversy triggered by publication of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer’s The Israel Lobby, which examined the […]

Obama: Doomed to disappoint

Article by John J. Mearsheimer. ——————————————————————————————————- Barack Obama gave a major speech on the Middle East on Thursday, May 19, and it is clear from the subsequent commentary that he impressed few people. The main reason for this is that he did not say much new or indicate […]

The Lobby Takes the Offensive

Article by Justin Raimondo. ——————————————————————————————————— When the President of the United States reiterated longstanding American policy in the Middle East – that the borders of Israel and a Palestinian state must be based on the 1967 borders, give or take a few land swaps here and there – […]

America's Student Loan Racket: Soaring Default Rates

Article by Stephen Lendman. ———————————————————————————————————- Many students, whether or not they graduate, have debt burdens approaching or exceeding $100,000. If repaid over 30 years, it’s a $500,000 obligation, and if default, much more because debts aren’t forgiven. As a result, once entrapped, escape is impossible. Bondage is permanent, […]

SlutWalks Sweep The Nation

From Infoshop. ——————————————————————————————————– Toronto police constable Michael Sanguinetti thought he was offering the key to rape prevention. “I’m not supposed to say this,” he told a group of students at an Osgoode Hall Law School safety forum on January 24, but to prevent being sexually assaulted, “Avoid dressing […]

The 12-Step Plan to Restore American Femininity

Article by Gavin McInnes. —————————————————————————————————- Like firing a fetus from a slingshot, feminism catapulted women out of the kitchen and onto the streets, where they were invited to do anything a man can do—but better. This was a blessing for the few women meant to lead a man’s […]

Bring Us the Head of Ronald McDonald

Article by Jim Goad. ———————————————————————————————————- Sorry to be a dick about it, but is it impolite to suggest there are other possible causes for childhood obesity beyond Ronald McDonald? How about the fact that children exercise 20% less than they did in the 1970s while consuming only 3% […]

Oregon court rules medical pot users can have guns

Article by Jeff Barnard. —————————————————————————————————— GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Oregon Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that a retired school bus driver can have her medical marijuana and a concealed handgun, too. The ruling upheld previous decisions by the Oregon Court of Appeals and circuit court that determined […]

Venezuela getting better all the time

Article from Prensa Latina. ——————————————————————————————————– The visitor who walks the streets of cosmopolitan Caracas can soon see the Venezuelans are living in a moment of joy, marked by positive social change that is a benefit to the population. It is because year after year, since 1999 when Hugo […]

For First Time, Majority of Americans Support Gay Marriage

As I predicted, American society continues to drift leftward… —————————————————————————————————— A recent Gallup poll shows 53 percent of Americans support making gay marriage legal, Reuters reports. The poll shows a significant change in mood on the issue from a year ago, when an equal majority opposed same-sex matrimony. […]

Liberty in Perfection: Freedom in Native American Thought

Article by Amy Sturgis. ——————————————————————————————————- Preacher Samuel Peters’s encounter with a free society was a memorable one. In 1781, he wrote in awe: “The conscious independence of each individual warms his thoughts and guides his actions. . . . Here is liberty in perfection!”[1] Though he wrote in […]

Nietzsche and Ortega Juxtaposed

Article by Michael Kleen. ——————————————————————————————————— Both Friedrich Nietzsche and José Ortega y Gasset were alarmed by the development of the modern State, which matured to ascendancy in the late 18th Century. In the 1860s and ‘70s, Nietzsche witnessed Otto von Bismarck forge his native Germany from a collection […]

Nietzsche on the Origin of the State

Article by Michael Kleen. ——————————————————————————————————– In the mind of 19th Century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the growth of the State (Staat) was one of the most alarming developments of the modern world. Where others saw the promise of a new democratic age in which “the people” ruled, Nietzsche […]

Isn't Democracy Wonderful….

….when even freaks like this can get elected to Congress? ——————————————————————————————————- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has declared that America has a serious obligation to support Israel — and if not, God will curse the United States, and it will be the end of this country. The Minnesota Independent […]