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Talk Nation Radio: Carl Gibson on Shutting Down the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

https://soundcloud.com/davidcnswanson/talk-nation-radio-carl-gibson

Carl Gibson is currently engaged in a Green Jobs March from Philadelphia to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., as part of a campaign called ShutTheChamber.org.  You can join the march virtually by uploading a photo on their website, or you can join in reality at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce across from the White House at 10 a.m. Friday, May 24th.  Gibson is lead organizer of ShutTheChamber and cofounder of USUncut.  He discusses the damage the U.S. Chamber does to our political system pushing environmental destruction, wars, and the plutocratic concentration of wealth.  Gibson says that small businesses paying dues to local chambers that themselves have little in common with the U.S. Chamber end up funding assaults on small businesses, as the local chambers fund the state chambers which fund the U.S. Chamber -- an institution that also serves to funnel vast quantities of unaccountable corporate money into politics.

Total run time: 29:00

Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Download or get embed code from Archive or  AudioPort or LetsTryDemocracy.

Syndicated by Pacifica Network.

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Past Talk Nation Radio shows are all available free and complete at
http://davidswanson.org/talknationradio

Connecticut Advances Conversion from War to Peace Economy

The Connecticut legislature has sent to the governor to sign a bill that would create a commission to develop a plan for, among other things:

"the diversification or conversion of defense-related industries with an emphasis on encouraging environmentally-sustainable and civilian product manufacturing. On or before December 1, 2014, the commission shall submit such report to the Governor and, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to commerce."

The commission "shall Advise the General Assembly and the Department of Economic and Community Development on issues relating to the diversification or conversion of defense-related industries" among other things.

Obama's War on Free Expression

 

Obama's War on Free Expression

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

It's the most fundamental right. Without it all others are endangered. Obama's waging war to destroy it. He's done so throughout his tenure. 

 

He targeted AP. He did so unjustifiably. A previous article discussed it.

 

Israel Heads Closer to War on Syria

 

Israel Heads Closer to War on Syria

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

Syria is Washington's war. It was planned years ago. It began in early 2011. No end of conflict looks near. Escalating it appears likely.

 

Israel's very much involved. It abhors peace and stability. Its history reflects belligerence. It’s a direct threat. It borders Syria. 

 

Syria News May 22

 

Syrian and Hezbollah Fighters Push Qusayr Assault - NYTimes.com

Hezbollah sends new fighters to bloody Syria battle - Yahoo!7

Syria: Turning Point in the Battle of Qusayr - Al Akhbar English

FSA Warns Shiite/Alawite Towns Will Be Wiped Out if Qusair Falls to Government Troops, “We don’t want this to happen, but it will be a reality imposed on everyone” - Bloomberg

VIDEO (Arabic): FSA Colonel: Shiite/ Alawite Villages Will be Wiped Out if Qusair Falls - YouTube

Syria: Main al-Nusra Front commander killed in Qusayr clashes - PressTV

State Dep official: Iranians joining Hezbollah in key Syria battle, His information was based on reports from FSA commanders - AFP

Footage from rebels shows Iranian munitions in Syria - The Times of Israel

U.K. Pushes EU Blacklisting of Hezbollah Military Wing - WSJ.com

Tripoli braces for the worst as fighting enters fourth day - THE DAILY STAR

Baalbek residents back Hezbollah in Qusair fight - THE DAILY STAR

Israeli military chief issues stark warning after Syria, Israel trade fire across border - Fox News

Syrian army says captured Israeli Jeep is proof of aid to rebels - FRANCE 24

VIDEO: Israeli Jeep Used by FSA Terrorists Found in Qusayr by the Syrian Army - YouTube

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UN mediator: Syria government, rebels preparing for peace talks - NBC World News

Syria submits five names for possible peace talks - AFP

Syria Opposition Signals Tough Line on Peace Talks - ABC News

Syrian National Coalition to partake in 'Friends of Syria' talks - Ammon News

Iran wants in on Syria peace conference - AFP

Turkey's green light to Iran role in Syria talks a welcome step - todayszaman

Lavrov warns of hidden obstacles in upcoming conference on Syria - Russia Beyond The Headlines

Russia's Lavrov on Solving Syria through Diplomacy (Text of Interview) - Informed Comment

Top Russian security official visits US, He will deliver Putin’s response to a letter Obama sent in April - RT Russian politics

US President Obama to visit Russia with the Syrian crisis expected to top the agenda - hurriyetdailynews.com

Senate panel delivers bipartisan rebuke to Obama with vote to arm Syrian rebels - The Hill's Global Affairs

Armed, Bearded Syrians Flourish In Southern Turkey  - al-monitor.com

Three Chemical Weapon Specialist Answer Questions About Chemical Weapons In Syria - Brown Moses Blog

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Tensions Rise as Barzani Closes Syrian-Iraqi Kurdistan Border - Al-Monitor

Barzani warns PYD over its Syria policy in deepening row - todayszaman

Border Arrests Reveal Disunity, Conflict Among Syrian Kurds - Al-Monitor

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

Final Push for Signers & Donors for NY Times Full Page Ad

by Debra Sweet               The timing could not be better for our message to appear in The New York Times.  We are making a major push today for $9,703 to place the ad immediately for publication on stand-by this week. President Obama will give a major speech Thursday at the National Defense University in Washington, reportedly about drones and Guantanamo. 

Are Japanese Bonds Signaling Trouble?

 

Are Japanese Bonds Signaling Trouble?

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

A previous article discussed the disconnect between soaring markets and troubled economies. Liquidity driven markets only skyrocket so long.

 

What can't go on forever, won't. No one's sure when. Eventually the music stops. When that happens, watch out. Signals provide clues.

 

Reinventing Guatemalan History

 

Reinventing Guatemalan History

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

History reinventors support despots. Social democrats are vilified. Crimes of war, against humanity and genocide are sanitized. They're whitewashed. They disappear in plain sight.

 

Wall Street Journal columnist Mary O'Grady tried reinventing Guatemalan history. She failed. More on that below.

 

Supreme Court Colludes with Monsanto

 

Supreme Court Colludes with Monsanto

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

It's no surprise. Michael Parenti calls America's High Court its "autocratic branch." 

 

It's notoriously pro-business. It's longstanding. In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railway (1886), it granted corporations legal personhood.

 

Iran War Weekly - May 20, 2013

Iran War Weekly

May 20, 2013

 

Hello All – It’s official.  After almost a year of no progress in negotiations between “the West” and Iran about Iran’s nuclear program, last week’s meetings in Istanbul confirmed that there would be, indeed, no progress until at least after Iran’s presidential election, which will take place on June 14th.  Whatever the outcome of the election, it is likely that the post-election resumption of talks (if any) will take place in an international landscape greatly altered by the fighting in Syria.

 

Syria News May 21

 

 

Battle in Syria Pulls Hezbollah Further Into Assad’s War - NYTimes.com

Obama voices concern to Lebanon on Hezbollah role in Syria - Reuters

Syria Says the Army Restores Security and Stability to Most of al-Qseir in Homs- SANA, Syria

Idriss says Free Syrian Army well armed and determined to defend the city, warns Lebanon to restrain Hezbollah - THE DAILY STAR

Senior Hizbullah Official Killed in Syria Fighting - Israel National News

FSA: Mustafa Badreddine Leading Hizbullah Operations in Qusayr — Naharnet

Hariri slams state inaction over Hezbollah role in Syria - THE DAILY STAR

Tensions over Syria convulse Lebanese city again, 5 killed - Reuters

Attacks kill 95 in Iraq, hint of Syrian spillover - Yahoo! News

Iraqi campaign boosts Iraq-Syria border security - Al-Shorfa

Tribal and Islamist clashes in Syria reveal deep divisions - The National

Syria's Raqa opposition chief kidnapped, NGO says - afp

Video shows Syrian Islamists flogging men over illegal marriage - Yahoo! News

VIDEO: Sharia in Syria - whipping of men - LiveLeak.com

VIDEO: Evidence Of Iranian Arms Provided To Syria In The Past 18 Months - Brown Moses Blog

VIDEO: Syria crisis: 'Iraqi Shia fighters' join regime in battle - BBC News

VIDEO: Syria's makeshift oil refineries: 'It is like hell' –  guardian.co.uk

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Friends of Syria to push for peace conference - AFP

Russia: Assad foes must come to Syria meeting without conditions - Reuters

Syria top priority as Saudi crown prince visits Turkey - Alarabiya.net

William Hague hints at veto of Syria arms ban - FT.com

Syrian opposition meets in Madrid over conflict - AFP

Syria, Russia, and the S-300: Military and Technical Background - canadafreepress.co

VIDEO: The coalition of peaceful change forces welcomes peace initative for Syria - YouTube

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

 

Official Story has Odd Wrinkles: A Pack of Questions about the Boston Bombing

 

By Dave Lindorff


           (This article was originally written forWhoWhatWhy News)


CIA: An Idea Whose Time Has Gone

There's a contradiction built into every campaign promise about transparent government beyond the failure to keep the promises.  Our government is, in significant portion, made up of secret operations, operations that include warmaking, kidnapping, torture, assassination, and infiltrating and overthrowing governments.  A growing movement is ready to see that end.

The Central Intelligence Agency is central to our foreign policy, but there is nothing intelligent about it, and there is no good news to be found regarding it.  Its drone wars are humanitarian and strategic disasters.  The piles of cash it keeps delivering to Hamid Karzai fuel corruption, not democracy.  Whose idea was it that secret piles of cash could create democracy? (Nobody's, of course, democracy being the furthest thing from U.S. goals.)  Lavishing money on potential Russian spies and getting caught helps no one, and not getting caught would have helped no one.  Even scandals that avoid mentioning the CIA, like Benghazigate, are CIA blowback and worse than we're being told.

We've moved from the war on Iraq, about which the CIA lied, and its accompanying atrocities serving as the primary recruiting tool for anti-U.S. terrorists, to the drone wars filling that role.  We've moved from kidnapping and torture to kidnapping and torture under a president who, we like to fantasize, doesn't really mean it.  But the slave-owners who founded this country knew very well what virtually anyone would do if you gave them power, and framed the Constitution so as not to give presidents powers like these.

There are shelves full in your local bookstore of books pointing out the CIA's outrageous incompetence.  The brilliant idea to give Iran plans for a nuclear bomb in order to prevent Iran from ever developing a nuclear bomb is one of my favorites. 

But books that examine the illegality, immorality, and anti-democratic nature of even what the CIA so ham-handedly intends to do are rarer.  A new book called Dirty Wars, also coming out as a film in June, does a superb job.  I wrote a review a while back.  Another book, decades old now, might be re-titled "Dirty Wars The Prequel."  I'm thinking of Douglas Valentine's The Phoenix Program

It you read The Phoenix Program about our (the CIA's and "special" forces') secret crimes in Eastern Asia and Dirty Wars about our secret crimes in Western Asia, and remember that similar efforts were focused on making life hell for millions of people in Latin America in between these twin catastrophes, and that some of those running Phoenix were brought away from similar sadistic pursuits in the Philippines, it becomes hard to play along with the continual pretense that each uncovered outrage is an aberration, that the ongoing focus of our government's foreign policy "isn't who we are." 

Targeted murders with knives in Vietnam were justified with the same rhetoric that now justifies drone murders.  The similarities include the failure of primary goals, the counterproductive blowback results, the breeding of corruption abroad and at home, the moral and political degradation, the erosion of democratic ways of thinking, and -- of course -- the racist arrogance and cultural ignorance that shape the programs and blind their participants to what they are engaged in.  The primary difference between Phoenix and drone kills is that the drones don't suffer PTSD.  The same, however, cannot be said for the drone pilots

"The problem," wrote Valentine, "was one of using means which were antithetical to the desired end, of denying due process in order to create a democracy, of using terror and repression to foster freedom.  When put into practice by soldiers taught to think in conventional military and moral terms, Contre Coup engendered transgressions on a massive scale.  However, for those pressing the attack on VCI, the bloodbath was constructive, for indiscriminate air raids and artillery barrages obscured the shadow war being fought in urban back alleys and anonymous rural hamlets.  The military shield allowed a CIA officer to sit behind a steel door in a room in the U.S. Embassy, insulated from human concern, skimming the Phoenix blacklist, selecting targets for assassination, distilling power from tragedy."

At some point, enough of us will recognize that government conducted behind a steel door can lead only to ever greater tragedy. 

In an email that Valentine wrote for RootsAction.org on Monday, he wrote: "Through its bottomless black bag of unaccounted-for money, much of it generated by off-the-books proprietary companies and illegal activities like drug smuggling, the CIA spreads corruption around the world.  This corruption undermines our own government and public officials.  And the drone killings of innocent men, women, and children generate fierce resentment.. . .Tell your representative and senators right now that the CIA is the antithesis of democracy and needs to be abolished."

America: A Modern-Day Sparta

 

America: A Modern-Day Sparta

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

Permanent war is longstanding policy. America deplores peace. Throughout its history, it's waged war annually at home and/or abroad. Today it does so globally.

 

Giving peace a chance is loathed. Direct or proxy wars rage in multiple countries. 

 

Guantanamo Force-Feeding Constitutes Torture

 

Guantanamo Force-Feeding Constitutes Torture

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

Guantanamo detention constitutes torture, abuse and ill-treatment. Long-term detention compounds it. 

 

Force-feeding increases unconscionable pain and suffering. Doing so violates core rule of law principles.

 

Disconnect: Soaring Markets/Troubled Economies

 

Disconnect: Soaring Markets/Troubled Economies

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

Forget everything you learned about markets, economics and finance. Perhaps Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and other noted figures were wrong.

 

Central banks run today's world. Major ones matter most. Money printing madness controls everything. Love doesn't make the world go round. Liquidity-driven markets reflect the power of bankers to do it. 

America Honors Its Worst

 

America Honors Its Worst

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

Presidential Medals of Freedom are awarded annually. They mock what they claim to represent. Many go to deplorable recipients. 

 

Previous dishonorees include GHW Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, Henry Kissinger, Tony Blair, Shimon Peres, Margaret Thatcher, Alvaro Uribe, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, and Alan Greenspan among others.

Why Obama Can & Should Close Guantanamo NOW

 

by Debra Sweet         While promoting the message to Close Guantanamo that we are raising funds to publish in The New York Times, we  have been hearing, especially in the Twitterverse, that people think, because Obama promised to close Guantanamo, and says that Congress is not allowing him to do that, the main problem is with Congress.

Syria News May 19

 

 

Syria's Assad says he won't leave before elections are held in his country - Yahoo! News

VIDEO: Interview: Bashar al-Assad on Syria and the international community – guardian.co.uk

Syrian troops advance in northern, southern areas as rebels storm central towns - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Syrian army thwarts infiltration from Lebanon - AFP

Official: Gunmen abduct father of Syria deputy FM - AFP

Syrian opposition considers sacking its interim PM Hitto - McClatchy

Kurdish Youth Groups in Syria Blame Opposition Parties for Divisions - Rudaw

One Year After the Houla Massacre. New Report on Official vs. Real Truth - globalresearch.ca 

Was The Attack In Saraqeb Chemical Weapons, Or Something Else (VIDEOS)? - Brown Moses Blog

VIDEO: Saudi cannibal rebel in Syria is interviewed, He ate the heart of a soldier - YouTube

VIDEO: The "Osama bin Laden" brigade, It belongs to the Souqour Dimashq (Hawks of Damascus) Battalion of the “Free Syrian Army” - YouTube

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Turkey "softens opposition" to Syria conference, Obama sways Erdogan on Russia-US brokered peace deal - AFP

VIDEO: Angered by Erdogan’ policy towards Syria hundreds of protesters clash with Turkish police near Syrian border - RT News

VIDEO: Turkish citizens blame government negligence for border town blasts - YouTube

US Secretary of Defense : US, Russia "are doing their best to convince the powers in the region to be cautious against any escalation in military options" in Syria- SANA, Syria

Putin sending a letter to Obama,The key message will be that Russia and the US must jointly respond to global challenges - Russia Beyond The Headlines

Assad accuses Israel of providing intelligence to Syrian rebels -  Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Tunisia to reopen its embassy in Syria - Medafrica Times

Lebanon arrests a network smuggling Syrian antiquities - Ya Libnan

Hackers target Saudi government websites - Al Jazeera English

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

IRS Scandals: MoreThan Meets the Eye

 

IRS Scandal Headlines: More Than Meets the Eye

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

More than targeting political enemies is involved. More on than below. The practice is longstanding. Republican and Democrat administrations use the IRS abusively.

 

During the Coolidge administration, Republican Senator James Couzens investigated the IRS' predecessor - the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). 

 

Putin v. Obama et al

 

Putin v. Obama et al

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

On May 16, the Wall Street Journal headlined "Russia Raises Stakes in Syria," saying:

 

Syria News May 18

 

 

Russia provides Syria with advanced missiles, To counter any effort at imposing a naval embargo, establishing a no-fly zone or carrying out limited airstrikes - NYTimes.com

Russia boosts fleet off Syria, A warning to the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war - WSJ

US general slams Russia for giving Syria anti-ship missiles, calls it an "unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime" - AP

Russia defends weapons shipments to Syria, “There is absolutely no danger that these systems may end up in the hands of Hezbollah" -  latimes.com

Russia has data that Israel targeted Syrian defense facilities in May: Lavrov - Strategic-Culture.org

Syria not a bargaining chip in relations with West : Lavrov - RT Russian politics

Fox News Video Allegedly Shows Israeli Special Forces Returning From A Mission In Syria (VIDEO) - Business Insider

France opposes Syria conference if Iran to attend - Reuters

Turkey's Erdogan says U.N. must decide on any Syria no-fly zone - Reuters

Peacekeepers in Golan Abducted but Released by Rebels - NYTimes.com

Number of Syrian refugees tops 1.5 million mark, says UN agency - United Nations News Centre

Moscow ‘Hopeful’ on Syria Chemical Weapons Inspections, "the Syrian government has expressed readiness - after that place near Aleppo is inspected - to consider requests for inspections in other parts of the country” - RIA Novosti

Financial Times becomes the latest victim of the Syrian Electronic Army as its website and Twitter accounts get hacked - The Next Web

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Qatar bankrolls Syrian revolt with cash and arms, has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion - FT.com

How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution, Yet it also stands accused of dividing the opposition - FT.com

Insight: Syria's Nusra Front eclipsed by Iraq-based al Qaeda - Reuters

Jabhat al-Nusra and The Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (VIDEOS) - Brown Moses Blog

Vice and virtue police gain foothold in rebel-held territory in Syria to enforce a strict and brutally imposed form of Islamic rule - USAToday

Syrian rebels demand weapons before talks - The Washington Post

Syrian opposition to name new president in Istanbul - hurriyetdailynews.com

Syrian Oil Becomes Fault Line In War, the European Union lifting of the oil embargo on the opposition is likely to stir up Kurdish-Arab strife - aina.org

Syrian grain imports pick up despite worsening war - Ahram Online

Germany fears return of European jihadists in Syria, Up to 700 Europeans are fighting the Assad regime - The Guardian

Iraqis in southern city mourn 2 Shiite fighters killed in Syria - Fox News

Sectarianism in Iraq stoked by Syrian war - The Washington Post

 

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

Politicalspeak: U.S. Style

                It has been some time since the language of U.S. politics has been twisted so far as to render words nearly meaningless. In an effort to clarify what is actually being said in Washington, D.C., this writer offers this glossary of terms, with historical context, current usage and, at times, synonyms and antonyms.

                Some of these words and terms have been around for a while; others are brand new.

Ensure That The NY Times Close Guantanamo Ad Gets Published

by Debra Sweet  Yesterday, Pentagon officials claimed the president has authorization to pursue war without limits of time or space, saying the Authorization of Use of Military Force passed in 2001 means war could go on, as Dick Cheney said, "for generations."

Tsarnaev's Handwriting on the Wall

Boston Suspect’s Writing on the Wall

May 17, 2013

Editor Note: Hiding and near death, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly scrawled on the inside of a boat that he did what he did to avenge innocent Muslims killed by U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a rare look at the why behind “terrorism."

By Ray McGovern

Quick, somebody tell CIA Director John Brennan about the handwriting on the inside wall of the boat in which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding before Boston-area police riddled it and him with bullets. Tell Brennan that Tsarnaev’s note is in plain English and that it needs neither translation nor interpretation in solving the mystery: “why do they hate us?”

FBI Twists History: 'Terror' War Gets Stupider as Shakur is Added to the List

 

By Linn Washington, Jr.


Federal authorities publicly plot encouraging bounty hunters to kidnap a fugitive black radical from a foreign country for return to prison in the U.S. to achieve long-delayed justice.

This sounds like the FBI action on May 2, 2013 in placing former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list – the first female to have that dubious distinction.

Stop and Frisk: NYPD Racial Profiling

 

Stop and Frisk: NYPD Racial Profiling

 

by Stephen Lendman

 

The Fourth Amendment states: 

 

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

 

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