Dave Lindorff: Obama Channels Cheney

“The truth is always better than a cover-up, and what we now have the president advocating is a cover-up of American torture. But that’s only part of the president’s slide into Cheneyism. We have the president now calling for the possible indefinite detention of terror suspects–an idea that only insures that there will always be an incentive for recruiting more terrorists (to avenge those in captivity)–and that makes a joke of our own Constitution, which guarantees everyone–not just citizens–the right to a trial, the right to a presumption of innocence, and protection from “cruel and unusual punishment,” which indefinite detention certainly is.” Full article.

humanitarian crisis in swat, pakistan

i don’t know how the so-called war on the taliban is going to rein them in (probably not imho) however, it has created a huge humanitarian crisis. all those advocating for military action in swat should now be doling out some money to help the half million or so people who have actually been affected! the edhi foundation is also accepting donations for the swat crisis.

swat crisis

the end of america

last section of an 8 part series, “the end of america”, written by naomi wolf. on the loss of civil liberties: “civil liberties don’t swing back like other issues. civil liberties is a v precious commodity, when u lose them, it tends to run out of ur hand like sand and it’s hard to get it back” (jonathan turley, constitutional law expert).

Obama’s Axis of Obedience

good analysis:

Conflating Afghanistan and Pakistan
Obama’s Axis of Obedience
By PAUL WOLF

“The question at hand is not whether Pakistan is on the verge of a takeover by reactionary religious extremists from Afghanistan. It is not. Conflating the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan only confuses people. Pakistan is, however, experiencing an extraordinary upheaval of popular discontent. In a word, it’s the emergence of democracy. Left on its own, the Pakistani army could probably crush the resistence. But with Washington’s help, nearly anything is possible. The real question is, what form will the next series of political changes take.” Full article here.

Chris Floyd: A Full-Court Press for Pakistan War

finally someone who sees it clearly – the case that is being built for war in pakistan. nothing new. same MO: the press creates gradual hysteria (although everything seemed to be alright in pakistan when the swine flu first struck), the military experts start coming out of their holes to sell the war, the govt starts talking about where the next terror attack will come from and how we need to preempt, and finally the public comes to believe that there is no other solution – war is inevitable. do we have such short memories? we just went thru this same process with bush and iraq?

Rolling Out the Product Again
A Full-Court Press for Pakistan War
By CHRIS FLOYD

We asked for signs,
And signs were sent.

— Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”

We are now in the midst of a full-blown campaign to “roll out the product” for a new war: this time, in Pakistan. Anyone who lived through the run-up to the invasion of Iraq should be able to read the signs — anyone, that is, who is not blinded by partisan labels, or by the laid-back cool of a media-savvy leader far more presentable than his predecessor. Full article here.

torture

the torture issue: denial of the humanity of others, contempt for accepted morality.

“It Plays Into the Hands of Al-Qaida”
Torture? It Probably Killed More Americans Than 9/11
By PATRICK COCKBURN

“The reason why foreign fighters joined al-Qa’ida in Iraq was overwhelmingly because of abuses at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and not Islamic ideology,” says Major Matthew Alexander, who personally conducted 300 interrogations of prisoners in Iraq. It was the team led by Major Alexander [a named assumed for security reasons] that obtained the information that led to the US military being able to locate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qa’ida in Iraq. Zarqawi was then killed by bombs dropped by two US aircraft on the farm where he was hiding outside Baghdad on 7 June 2006. Major Alexander said that he learnt where Zarqawi was during a six-hour interrogation of a prisoner with whom he established relations of trust. Full article here.

What is Fascism?

Fascism is a unique phenomenon and has unique traits: the notion of being a “superior nation”, the denial of the humanity of other nations and national minorities, a cult of the leader, a cult of violence, disdain for democracy, an adoration of war, contempt for accepted morality. All these attributes together create the phenomenon, which has no agreed scientific definition.
URI AVNERY