Stephen Lendman's blog

  Ongoing Global Economic Crisis - by Stephen Lendman

Rosy scenario optimists ignore clear-eyed analysis. Economist Paul Craig Roberts sees hard times getting harder.

His "Dismal Economic Outlook For The New Year" article highlights what media scoundrels and mainstream analysts miss or suppress.

  Haiti: Two Years Later - by Stephen Lendman

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced a calamitous earthquake. Port-au-Prince was devastated. Property destruction and damage were extensive. 

As many as 300,000 or more died. Many others were injured. Impoverished Haitians enduring crushing hardships lost everything, including loved ones.

  Israel's Draconian Infiltration Law - by Stephen Lendman

On January 10, Haaretz writer Jonathan Lis headlined, "Knesset passes (Law to Prevent Infiltration) that could put asylum seekers in jail without trial," saying:

  Unaccountable: Private Military Contractor Abuses - by Stephen Lendman

Wherever they're deployed, they're menacing and feared for good reason. Known historically by various names, they include mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, dogs of war, and Condottieri for wealthy city state leaders and the Papacy in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance Italy.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used them. So did Alexander the Great, feudal lords, Napoleon and George Washington against the British.

  Palestinian Liberation Requires Unity - by Stephen Lendman

PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi wants EU help to end Israel's occupation. She said America's preoccupied with elections and grossly biased for Israel.

Calling the current situation "dangerous" she said Israel's "dragging the region into the abyss." As a result, urgent EU help is needed "to end the occupation."

  Israel Plans More Walls - by Stephen Lendman

Instead of peace, reconciliation, equity and justice, Israel plans settlement expansions and more Walls. More on them below.

At the same time, Abbas broke his pledge about no peace talks unless settlement expansions stop. Chief negotiators Saeb Erekat and Yitzhak Molcho are meeting in Amman, Jordan. They're joined by Quartet representatives.

  Racist Discrimination Against Israeli Arabs - by Stephen Lendman

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Arab citizens (below called Israeli Arabs) "are discriminated (against) in almost every aspect of their lives," including:

•  
• employment;

  Freedom: An Endangered Species in America - by Stephen Lendman

Last September, marking the 9/11 tenth anniversary, the ACLU published a report titled, A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11."

Who then could have imagined America engaged in:

  Targeting Journalists in Iraq - by Stephen Lendman

March 19 marks Operation Iraqi Freedom's 9th anniversary. Brutal occupation continues. Thousands of US forces remain. 

Obama's alleged pullout repositioned troops nearby and left many there. Moreover, an army of paramilitary killers infest the country.

  Targeting Journalists Covering OWS Protests - by Stephen Lendman

On September, 17, 2011, US Day of Rage.org organized protests in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, OR, and Austin, TX.

They hoped many more would follow, grow, and spread nationwide. Indeed they have to over 1,000 large and small cities, towns, and communities.

  Marwan Barghouti: Prisoner of Conscience - by Stephen Lendman

From March 29 - May 3, 2002, during the second Intifada, Israel conducted Operation Defensive Shield. Before Cast Lead, it was its largest military operation since June 1967 when Israel occupied Palestine.

  Obama's New Military Strategy - by Stephen Lendman

Obama's January 5 Pentagon news conference reeked of duplicity like all his pronouncements. Surrounded by Joint Chiefs of Staff, hawkishness took center stage.

Stressing a leaner, more agile/flexible military, he said counterterrorism, intelligence and cyberwarfare will be emphasized without sacrificing America's superiority against global enemies. 

  Libyan Violence and Instability - by Stephen Lendman

NATO's killing machine ravaged a nonbelligerent country posing no threat. Tyranny replaced Jamahiriya government. Violence followed stability.

On January 3, Middle East Online contributor Jay Deshnukh headlined, "Ex-rebels' war for money, power: Fierce clashes erupt in Tripoli," saying:

  Promoting War on Iran - by Stephen Lendman

In June 2009, a Brookings Institution report titled, "Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran" was a regime change policy paper. Pro-Israeli right-wing ideologues prepared it, including:

  Obama Plans More War - by Stephen Lendman

On January 5, Obama held a first ever administration Pentagon news conference. Its thinly veiled hawkishness explained his 2012 military agenda.

  Systematic West Bank Settler Violence - by Stephen Lendman

B'Tselem's been on the story for years. Settler violence is longstanding, troubling, and largely without accountability.

Since September 2000 alone (the beginning of the second Intifada), the toll includes 50 Palestinians killed. Since December 1987 (the first Intifada's onset), it's 115, besides many more injured, including children.

  Palestinian Children Detained Oppressively in Isolation - by Stephen Lendman

DCI/Palestine "is a national section of the international non-government child rights organisation and movement (dedicated) to promoting and protecting the rights of Palestinian children," according to international law principles.

  Money Power Runs America - by Stephen Lendman

Wall Street does it by controlling money, credit and debt, as well as manipulating markets for private enrichment. House and Senate millionaires do it their way for greater wealth, privilege, power and status.

  Shooting the Messenger in Syria - by Stephen Lendman

At issue is discrediting Sudanese General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi. He's Arab League observer mission head in Syria. More on him below.

The phrase "shooting the messenger" is centuries old. Shakespeare wrote "Don't shoot the messenger" in Henry IV, part two. In Antony and Cleopatra, she reacted to Antony jilting her by threatening to treat the messenger's eyes as balls.

  Crisis Conditions Grip Eurozone - by Stephen Lendman

From inception, the euro system was doomed to fail. In the 1990s, Progressive Radio News Hour regular Bob Chapman predicted it.

  Proposed FCC Media Consolidation Rules- by Stephen Lendman

In October 2007, then FCC chairman Kevin Martin proposed lifting the 1975 media cross-ownership rule. It forbid owning a newspaper and television or radio station in the same city even though conglomerates like Rupert Murdock's News Corp. and the (Chicago) Tribune Company already did. 

  Obama's America: Tyranny and Permanent War - by Stephen Lendman

December 31, 2011 will be remembered as a day of infamy. More on it below. October 17, 2006 was an earlier one under Bush.

In a White House ceremony, he signed the infamous Military Commissions Act (MCA). It authorized torture as official policy. 

  Ratcheting Up Middle East Tensions - by Stephen Lendman

Post-9/11, Washington's aggression created a Middle East cauldron. As a result, it's been on the boil. Things ahead look worse. Obama and key NATO allies threaten the entire region. In 2012, expect continued destructive violence. 

  Obama's New Year Resolution: More Middle East War - by Stephen Lendman

Syria and Iran are targeted. Regime change is planned. At issue is replacing them with client ones, controlling the region's strategic resources, and depriving key rivals China and Russia from access.

  Appalling Bahraini Prison Conditions and Treatment - by Stephen Lendman

Since early 2011, Washington, Western governments, and major media scoundrels largely ignored outrageous Al Khalifa monarchy abuses. They include crackdowns on nonviolent protesters, mass arrests, torture, intimidation, and cold-blooded murder.

  Ron Paul's Anti-Progressive Agenda - by Stephen Lendman

Compared to a rogue's gallery of Republican aspirants, supporters claim Paul looks good by comparison. Look again and think carefully about America in his hands.

True enough, he wants the Federal Reserve abolished. He calls it "dishonest, immoral, unconstitutional," and America's "great(est) threat to....security and prosperity."

  State of Human Rights in Israel - by Stephen Lendman

Annually, the State Department publishes human rights reports for over 190 countries. Its latest April 8, 2011 Israel assessment noted serious human rights abuses, including:

(1) numerous NGO complaints about torture and other abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.

  Israel v. Palestine in 2012 - by Stephen Lendman

Palestinians have endured decades of ruthless occupation. World leaders decline support. They're left largely on their own despite growing millions globally supporting them.

Life in occupied Palestine is harsh and repressive. On December 26, Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barakat, delivered another blow. The Municipality will classify 70,000 Israeli Arab citizens non-residents and involuntarily transfer them to West Bank locations.

  Saudi Arabian State Terror - Stephen Lendman

Annually, the State Department publishes human rights reports for over 190 countries. Its latest April 8, 2011 Saudi Arabia assessment discusses "significant human rights abuses and the inability of citizens to change its absolute monarchal rule. Abuses include:

  Escalating Anti-Iranian Tensions - by Stephen Lendman

Whether or not anti-Iranian rhetoric, saber rattling, sanctions, other policy measures, and recent events signal war isn't known. Growing dangers though mount.

America targets all independent regimes. At issue is replacing them with client ones.