Stephen Lendman's blog

New York Times v. North Korea

by Stephen Lendman

The Times is America's unofficial ministry of information and propaganda. Daily managed news misinformation is featured. 

Articles, commentaries and editorials are brazenly one-sided. Readers are systematically lied to. Fiction substitutes for facts. Information is carefully filtered. Dissent is marginalized.

Imperial Partners Showcase Their Ruthlessness

by Stephen Lendman

America and Israel partner in injustice. They prioritize it. Imperial lawlessness is policy. So is state terror. Many examples explain. They're commonplace daily.

New York Times Anti-Palestinian Bias

by Stephen Lendman

On April 4, The New York Times headlined "Palestinian Defiance on Display at West Bank Funerals." 

Venezuelans Vote

by Stephen Lendman

On Sunday, April 14, PSUV's Nicolas Maduro (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) faces opposition Rountable of Democratic Unity (MUD) candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski.  

Most Venezuelans deplore him. They do so for good reason. He represents oligarch power, ties to Washington, and returning Venezuela to its ugly past.

Creating a North Korean Threat

by Stephen Lendman

Washington needs enemies. When none exist, they're invented. A previous article said North Korea's straight from central casting. 

Pyongyang threatens no one. Media scoundrels say otherwise. So does Obama. On the one hand, he claims no one wants war on the Korean peninsula. He urges Pyongyang "to pursue peace."

Globalized Torture

by Stephen Lendman

America's the world's leading human rights abuser. State terror is official policy. So is waging war on humanity. 

Guantanamo operates lawlessly. It's America's public face. It's the tip of the iceberg. More on that below.

Greater Grand Theft Cyprus

by Stephen Lendman

Hit 'em again harder is policy. Cyprus is Exhibit A. It's pound of flesh demanded got greater. "Could it possibly get any worse," headlined Cyprus Mail?"

Obama's Neoliberal Budget

by Stephen Lendman

Main Street America's in protracted Depression. Conditions go from bad to worse. More than ever, vital stimulus is needed. Lots of it. 

Obama's solution is force-fed austerity. In term one, he prioritized it. His FY 2014 budget offers more of the same. 

Attacking Venezuela's Democratic Process

by Stephen Lendman

Jimmy Carter calls Venezuelan elections the world's best. He does so for good reason. They shame America's sham process. Duopoly power controls things. People have no say. 

Mistreating Palestinian Children

by Stephen Lendman

Societies perhaps are best judged by how they treat prisoners, their most disadvantaged and children.

On March 20, Israeli soldiers mass arrested about 30 children. Obama arrived the same day. Every child passing Tareq Bin Zeyad street was seized. They were heading for school in Hebron. 

Force-Fed UK Austerity

by Stephen Lendman

Since 2008, America, Britain and other European nations force-fed austerity harshness. Neoliberal and imperial priorities take precedence. 

Bankers, war profiteers, other corporate favorites, and privileged elites alone benefit. Ordinary people lose out entirely. Public needs go begging. Human misery grows. Things go from bad to worse. Nothing ahead looks promising.

Deplorable Bahraini Human Rights Abuses Continue

by Stephen Lendman

In summer 2010, sporadic protests began. In mid-February 2011, major ones erupted. Bahrainis want democracy. They want King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalif's repressive regime replaced.

Thatcherism

by Stephen Lendman

Thatcherism represents Chicago School fundamentalism writ large. She’s gone. She won’t be missed. 

She launched a corporatist revolution. She headed Britain down a slippery slope toward unfettered predatory capitalism. 

Obama's War on Social America

by Stephen Lendman

Obama, Republicans and most democrats are in lockstep. They claim Medicare and Social Security are going broke. They lie saying so. When properly administered, both programs are sound. Modest adjustments only are needed to assure it.

They're federally mandated. They're not entitlements. They're contractual obligations. They're for eligible recipients who qualify. Payroll taxes fund them. 

Secret FDIC Plan to Loot Bank Accounts

by Stephen Lendman

It shouldn't surprise. It's already policy. Market analyst Graham Summers explained. Depositor theft is coming. Europe is banker occupied territory. So is America. 

Exploiting Holocaust Remembrance Day

by Stephen Lendman

Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated annually. It runs from sundown April 7 to sunset April 8. This year's theme is "Defiance and Rebellion during the Holocaust: 70 years Since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising."

Sunday night Warsaw and Jerusalem ceremonies included government officials, dignitaries and holocaust survivors.

New York Times Supports Targeted Killings

by Stephen Lendman

It doesn't surprise. When America goes to war or plans one, Times editors march in lockstep. They support imperial lawlessness. More on that below.

America's AfPak war is illegal. Tactics include targeted killings. Drones, helicopters and other conventional air strikes are used. 

Destabilizing Venezuela: Longstanding US Policy

by Stephen Lendman

It doesn't surprise. It's likely happening ahead of Venezuela's April 14 presidential election. It'll continue when it's over. 

Washington tolerates no independent governments. It demands pro-Western ones. It wants them serving US interests. Outliers are targeted for regime change.

More Peace Process Hypocrisy

by Stephen Lendman

On April 6, John Kerry began a multi-nation tour. He'll travel to Europe and East Asia. His first stop is Turkey. He'll meet with Netanyahu and Abbas. He wants peace talks restarted. More on that below.

Peace process deception is policy. It's always been a charade. It is now. Israel wants it that way. So does Washington.

Defending IMF Financial Terrorism

by Stephen Lendman

On March 29, New York Times editors headlined "Strengthening the IMF." What demands abolition, they support. It doesn't surprise. 

Iranian Nuclear Talks

by Stephen Lendman

On April 5, so-called P5+1 talks began. They picked up where previous ones left off. Countries involved include America, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany. Almaty, Kazahhstan played host. It did so for the second time.

Iran participates in good faith. Saeed Jalili heads its negotiating delegation. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton represents P5+1 countries.

Another Dismal Jobs Report

by Stephen Lendman

Putting lipstick on this pig doesn't wash. One analyst said March data was miserable from every angle. Economist David Rosenberg called it "one soft US jobs report." It "quash(ed) the consensus view of economic re-acceleration."

Permanent War: Longstanding US Policy

by Stephen Lendman

Wars define America. They reflect longstanding policy. They're permanent. They've been waged every year in the nation's history. They target enemies at home and abroad. When none exist, they're invented.

Peace is a non-starter. It's always been that way. It never had a chance. It doesn't now. It's systematically spurned. 

BOJ Increases QE

by Stephen Lendman

On April 4, the Financial Times headlined "Bank of Japan follows the Fed, on steroids." Pedal-to-the-metal reflects new governor Haruhiko Kuroda's policy.

Playing the North Korea Card

by Stephen Lendman

For decades, North Korea's wanted normalized relations with Washington. It's been repeatedly rebuffed. Promises made were broken. America needs enemies. 

Institutionalized Barbarism: Official Israeli Policy

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed Arafat Jaradat. Shin Bet interrogators killed him. They tortured him to death. Independent autopsy results proved it. 

Public Banking: What Better Time Than Now

by Stephen Lendman

Money power in private hands games the system. It does so destructively. Controlling money, credit and debt for private enrichment assures speculation, booms, busts, inflation, deflation, instability, crisis, recessions and depressions.

Israeli Murder by Neglect

by Stephen Lendman

Israel operates one of the world's most unconscionable gulags. Thousands of Palestinian political prisoners fill it.  

Fundamental human rights are denied. Torture, ill-treatment and medical neglect are commonplace. 

Tariq Aziz: Victim of US Imperialism

by Stephen Lendman

He's ill, isolated and fading. His life hangs in the balance. Washington likely wants him dead. He blames America, Israel and Britain. They bear responsibility for destroying Iraq. More on him below.

Guantanamo Hunger Strike Spreads

by Stephen Lendman

Detainees have few ways to resist. Refusing food challenges injustice. It's now past two months. 

Media scoundrels at first ignored it. Now they say little. Capitol Hill's quiet. Pentagon officials downplay it. Russia Today reports it daily. More on that below.