You are hereBlogs
Blogs
Expanding Guantanamo
Expanding Guantanamo
by Stephen Lendman
In 2008, candidate Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Straightaway as president, he issued Executive Order titled "Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities."
Obama Spurns Palestinian Rights
Obama Spurns Palestinian Rights
by Stephen Lendman
He frankly doesn't give a damn. He spent three days in Israel. He showed one-sided support. He gave Palestinians short shrift. He spent token time in Ramallah.
He told Israelis "so long as there is a United States of America, Ah-tem lo lah-vahd (You are not alone)." He left no doubt what he means.
Syria News Mar 26
Syrian Jihadist Fighters Getting Western Anti-tank Weapons Meant for FSA groups - VOA
Russia Seeks to Join Probe of Syria Chemical Attack Reports - RIA Novosti
Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to ‘collect cash’ - Alarabiya.net
Rebel mortar fire hits Damascus killing at least two people, army gunners retaliate - Reuters
U.N. to move some staff out of Syria after mortar blasts near hotel - Reuters
Jordan closes main border crossing with Syria - Reuters
Residents of Syria's Aleppo sell belongings to survive - Ahram Online
VIDEO: Rebels target Syrian State TV & Radio With Rockets - LiveLeak.com
VIDEO: A new toy for Syrian rebels: U.S. ACOGs? - LiveLeak.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Syrian rebel army founder's leg blown off by car bomb - Reuters
PHOTO: Photo showing Riad al-Asaad's amputated leg - LiveLeak.com
VIDEO: FSA founder Ryad El Asaad crying "I want to die" after becoming amputee - YouTube
VIDEO (Arabic): FSA statement about assassination attempt on al Asaad - LiveLeak.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syria rebels win Arab League seat despite rifts - AFP
Iraq: Giving Syria seat at AL to Doha Coalition violation of Charter - SANA, Syria
Syria's Alkhatib to address Doha meeting despite quitting - Reuters
VIDEO (Arabic): Ghassan Hitto, Syrian National Coalition PM visits Aleppo - YouTube
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
Bradley Manning's Nobel Peace Prize
Whistleblower Bradley Manning has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he should receive it.
No individual has done more to push back against what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the madness of militarism" than Bradley Manning. The United States is the leading exporter of weapons and itself spends as much preparing for more wars as the rest of the world combined. Manning is the leading actor in opposition to U.S. warmaking, and therefore militarism around the world. What he has done has hurt the cause of violence in a number of other nations as well.
And right now, remaining in prison and facing relentless prosecution by the U.S. government, Manning is in need of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Alfred Nobel's will left funding for a prize to be awarded to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
The intent of the prize was to fund this work. As a result of enormous legal expenses, Bradley Manning is in need of that funding, unlike some other peace prize recipients. In addition, his secret trial -- with a potential death sentence -- could use all the attention that can be shined on it.
The people of the United States and the rest of the world have learned more about the intentions of the U.S. government from Bradley Manning than from anyone else. "Thanks to Manning's alleged disclosures, we have a sense of what transpired in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have an image of how Washington operates in the world," author Chase Madar wrote in his book about Manning's whistleblowing.
"Thanks to those revelations we now know just how our government leaned on the Vatican to quell opposition to the Iraq War. We now know how Washington pressured the German government to block the prosecution of CIA agents who kidnapped an innocent man, Khaled El-Masri, while he was on vacation. We know how our State Department lobbied hard to prevent a minimum wage increase in Haiti, the hemisphere's poorest nation."
Manning revealed a secret U.S. war in Yemen, U.S. records of massive civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, video of a U.S. helicopter attack on civilians and their rescuers in Baghdad, and facts about the corruption of numerous governments including those of the United States, Tunisia, and Egypt. In those last two nations Manning's revelations contributed to nonviolent pro-democracy movements.
Among the revelations made by Manning through WikiLeaks is the extent of time and energy the U.S. State Department puts into marketing U.S. weapons to the world's governments. We all have a better understanding of the work that is needed for peace as a result of this exposure of "diplomacy" as consisting so greatly of weapons selling.
The Guardian newspaper and BBC Arabic detailed last week how the United States armed and trained Iraqi police commando units that ran torture centers and death squads. Maggie O'Kane, executive producer of the documentary, said: "I hope this film will be a legacy that actually says, 'If you want to go to war, this is what war means. It means 14-year-old boys being hung up and tortured. It means men being turned on spits. And that's called counter-insurgency. . . .' This would not be coming to light if it hadn't been for Bradley Manning."
Not only has Manning done the most to resist militarism, but he has done it for its own sake, and not by chance or for any ulterior motive. This is made clear by his recent statement in court and by his earlier communications in the chat logs that have long been a part of his case. Manning was horrified by crimes and abuses. He believed the public should know what was happening. He believed democracy was more important than blind subservience in the name of a "democracy."
Manning has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Movement in the Icelandic Parliament, the Pirates of the EU; representatives from the Swedish Pirate Party, and the former Secretary of State in Tunisia for Sport & Youth. The nomination states, in part: "These revelations have fueled democratic uprisings around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia. According to journalists, his alleged actions helped motivate the democratic Arab Spring movements, shed light on secret corporate influence on the foreign and domestic policies of European nations, and most recently contributed to the Obama Administration agreeing to withdraw all U.S. troops from the occupation in Iraq."
The Norwegian Nobel Committee (send them a note) can either begin awarding the peace prize to opponents of war or continue on its current course -- one which already has many questioning, not whether Manning is worthy of the prize, but whether the prize is worthy of Manning.
Cyprus Update
Cyprus Update
by Stephen Lendman
It's all over but the post mortems. Eurocrats demanded their pound of flesh. Cypriot officials surrendered.
They sold out their people. They deserve better. Expect greater than ever hard times. Expect growing poverty, unemployment and despair. Expect public anger. At issue is whether it'll bubble up and explode.
TSA finally holding long-overdue public comment period on scanners, by Lisa Simeone
A full five years after the TSA began installing airport scanners and forcing people through them, and almost two years after it was ordered by Congress and the courts to hold a public comment period on them, the agency is finally complying.
Never mind that logic and common sense dictate that an agency would take public comments before implementing a new, invasive procedure.
What Follows Turkish/Israeli Reconciliation
What Follows Turkish/Israeli Reconciliation
by Stephen Lendman
A separate article called it grand betrayal. Aggrieved families were denied justice. What's ahead matters most. Be concerned. Be very concerned.
Shameless NYT Defense of Obamacare
Shameless NYT Defense of Obamacare
by Stephen Lendman
Obamacare is a healthcare rationing scheme. It enriches insurers, drug companies and large hospital chains.
Universal, single-payer coverage alone works. Obama and complicit Democrats spurned it.
Action in Coming Weeks
Upcoming Events
March 21-28 Week of Action for Bahrain
http://warisacrime.org/
Fast from March 24-30 in solidarity with those detained indefinitely and on hunger strike at Guantanamo. Vigils will take place in NYC, Washingt on DC, Chicago, Des Moines, and other cities on March 24. Email witnesstorture@gmail.org
March 26-30 World Social Forum in Tunis
March - April, NY City, Festival of Conscience
April 4 Another Life with David Swanson
http://www.
April 1-30 Fasting for the climate
http://www.1future.net
April 4 - July 3 Tour de Peace across the country
http://cindysheehanssoapbox.
April 5-7 Historians Against War in Baltimore, Md.
http://historiansagainstwar.
April 8-10 Washington, D.C., School of the Americas Watch
http://www.soaw.org/take-
April 4-6 San Diego, protest drones
April 4-7 – Drone Manufacturing. Actions around the country directed at drone manufacturing facilities in region and calling for an end to manufacturing weaponized and surveillance drones. Coordinator: Joe Scarry – jtscarry@yahoo.com
April 16-18 – Drone Research/Training. Actions/teach-ins, etc. at colleges & universities that do drone research or pilot training. Demand an end to research and training related to drone warfare. Coordinator: Marge Van Cleef mvc@igc.org
April 27-28 – Drone Bases. Organize protests at bases in region. Hancock Reaper drone base protest organizers calling for large demonstrations there. Coordinator: Dave Soumis davidso1@charter.net
http://upstatedroneaction.org/
More April Anti-Drone-Kill Events
http://salsa.
April 13 Anti-Drone Kills March on White House
http://www.answercoalition.
April 13 Hyattsville, Md., "Building Bridges: Creating the Beloved Community"
http://www.mupj.org
April 15 Global Day of Action on Military Spending
http://demilitarize.org
April 20 Robin Hood Tax -- Noon Rally at Murrow Park (Pennsylvania Ave between 18th & 19th Streets) in Washington, DC, 12:30pm – March to IMF, World Bank, and US Treasury
http://www.facebook.com/
April 22-26 Dallas, Texas, People's Response to George W. Bush Lie-Bury
March and Rally April 25th
http://thepeoplesresponse.org
May 1, MAY DAY
May 3-5 Asheville, NC, National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
http://www.nwtrcc.org/
May 10-12 Labor Fight Back Conference at Rutgers
http://laborfightback.org/
June 1 Fort Meade, Md., Rally for Bradley Manning
http://www.bradleymanning.org/
June 7-9 Left Forum in NYC
http://www.leftforum.org/
June 22 Little Rock, Ark., United We Stand Festival
http://freeandequal.org/
August 3 Abolish It
https://www.facebook.com/
August 7-11, 2013, Veterans For Peace Convention in Madison, WI
http://veteransforpeace.org
August 7-11, 2013, Democracy Convention in Madison, WI
http://democracyconvention.org
August 18-19 Philadelphia, Penn., Marking 60 years since overthrow of Mossadegh
http://
November 22 Occupy the Grassy Knoll
http://occupythegrassyknoll.