Corporatism and Fascism

Communications Giants in Good Hands with Tom Wheeler

by Stephen Lendman

Obama's expected to pick Tom Wheeler as new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman. More on him below.

And you thought corporate personhood was bad enough!  Lacey Kohlmoos, Senior Field Organizer, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, tells us that the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) will create corporate nationhood by empowering corporations to sue and overrule real nations, as well as incentivizing the offshoring of jobs, hurting food safety, damaging environmental protections, enriching drug companies at the expense of human health, banning some generic drugs, further deregulating banks, forbidding the breaking up of too-big-to-fail financial firms, and creating SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) despite its failure in Congress as a result of strong public opposition.

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Institutionalized Spying on Americans

by Stephen Lendman

Big Brother no longer is fiction. It hasn't been for some time. It's official US policy. According to ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program director Barry Steinhardt:

Simpson-Bowles 2.0

by Stephen Lendman

Both men represent the nation's ruling class. They want more wealth transferred from ordinary people to corporate America and privileged elites like themselves. They're back with plan B. More on that below.

America's Addiction: Waging War on Humanity

by Stephen Lendman

America's business is war. Permanent wars reflect official US policy. They're glorified in the name of peace. 

One nation after another is ravaged. Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called it being "cold-blooded about the self-interests of your nation."

By Dan DeWalt

Has the "land of the free and home of the brave" decided to roll over in fear and concede defeat to terrorism?

FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots

by Stephen Lendman

Boston's marathon bombings leave disturbing questions unanswered. Official accounts lack credibility. Mounting evidence suggests FBI responsibility. It doesn't surprise.

Torture Remains Official US Policy

by Stephen Lendman

International law is clear and unequivocal. Torture is illegal at all times, under all circumstances with no allowed exceptions.

It violates constitutional protections. They include the 8th Amendment's guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishments."

By Dave Lindorff

Speaking as an investigative reporter with almost 40 years’s experience, I can say that when government officials won’t talk, they’re generally hiding something embarrassing or worse.

The Bush Legacy

Throughout his tenure, media scoundrels were largely supportive. They ignored his 2000 electoral theft. In 2004, they did so again.

They backed his imperial wars. They turned a blind eye to police state injustice. They ignored torture on a global scale. They mischaracterized the measure of the man.

America's War on Terror 2.0

by Stephen Lendman

Post-Boston bombings, expect Obama and Congress to take full advantage. Perhaps more war is planned. Big lies launch them. Fear-mongering enlists public support. Anything ahead is possible.

A previous article discussed dubious allegations of Syria's chemical weapons use. They resemble fabricated claims about Saddam's nonexistent WMDs. It's similar to false charges against all US enemies. 

By John Grant

 “In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we’ve had to kill people.”

         --Ted Kaczynski, The Unabomber Manifesto, 1995

Free Lynne Stewart Now

by Stephen Lendman

Lynne's wrongfully imprisoned. She's one of America's best. For 30 years, she defended its poor, underprivileged, unwanted, and forgotten. Without advocates like her, they're denied due process and judicial fairness.

By Alfredo Lopez

One thing is clear amidst the shower of confusion and contradiction that bathes the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing: the legal and technological structure of a police state is in place and can be quickly activated. As if on cue, while the hunt for the bombers was ongoing, the House of Representatives obligingly enhanced that police state capability by passing the draconian Cyber Intelligence and Protection Act (CIPA). If approved by the Senate and signed by the President, it will greatly expand the government's intrusion into all our lives.

By Dave LIndorff

I have written a lengthy piece about all the bizarre aspects of the Tsarnaev brothers’ alleged bombing of the Boston Marathon, including questions about where the elder Tsarnaev brother, Tarmelan, who was delivering pizzas, and whose wife was slaving away at a low-paid home health aid job, got the money to buy his fancy clothes and Mercedes Benz, why the Marathon finish line area was crawling with black-jacketed mercenaries from the Craft International Security rent-a-soldier agency, and how the police and federal agencies and National Guard managed to lock down a city of a million in a few hours’ time without any advance planning. 

By Linn Washington, Jr.

Was it simply a “cold business decision” or a callous act of censorship?

This is the question swirling around legendary pro-basketball player Shaquille O’Neal who put a power move on Stephen Vittoria blocking this respected filmmaker’s showing of his latest documentary at the movie complex O’Neal co-owns in downtown Newark, NJ, the city where both of these men were born.

Terrorists "R" Us

by Stephen Lendman

State-sponsored terrorism defines US policy. Doublespeak duplicity conceals it. Doublethink manipulates public opinion to ignore inconvenient truths.

Howard Zinn once asked: "How can you make war on terrorism if war is terrorism?" Waging war on terrorism "gives government a perpetual war and a perpetual atmosphere of repression."

Boston Bombing Suspect Charged

by Stephen Lendman

Unequivocal, verifiable evidence is absent. Reports are largely hearsay. Some later contradict earlier ones. Dzhokkar Tsarnaev faces unsubstantiated charges. America operates that way.

Authorities claim both brothers used pressure cookers packed with metal and ball bearings rigged to explode. How they fit in their back packs wasn't explained. Ones they wore weren't large enough. 

By Dave Lindorff

I’m not a conspiracy-minded person, but something definitely stinks about this whole Boston Marathon bombing story.

America's War on Islam 2.0

by Stephen Lendman

Waging war at home or abroad requires enemies. America creates them when none exist. Imperial strategy demands them. 

Post-9/11, Muslims were targeted for political advantage. Post-Boston bombings, America's war on Islam continues.

By Dave Lindorff

The Boston Marathon bombing has already demonstrated the best and the worst of America for all the world to see.

Anatomy of a False Flag

by Stephen Lendman

False flags are an American tradition. They go way back. The Boston bombings appear the latest. More on that below. 

Notable earlier false flags or incidents approximating them include:

Boston Black Ops: Manufacturing Terror

by Stephen Lendman

Mounting evidence suggests state-sponsored terrorism. Expect more later to confirm it. Cui bono matters most. Powerful interests benefit hugely. Ordinary people lose out. 

The Bloom Is Off Gold

by Stephen Lendman

It is for now. Don't bet against it longer term. Value eventually wins out. Gold's secular bull market continues. Experts believe it has a long way to go. 

Market manipulation bears full responsibility for recent market action. A previous article explained. It called gold a global thermometer. It reflects monetary, geopolitical and economic conditions. It's driven by supply and demand considerations.

By Dave Lindorff

The way I see it, we had two acts of terrorism in the US this week. The first took place at the end of the historic Boston Marathon, when two bombs went off near the finish line, killing three and seriously injuring dozens of runners and spectators. The second happened a couple days later in the town of West, Texas, where a fertilizer plant blew up, incinerating or otherwise killing at least 15, and injuring at least 150 people, and probably more as the search for the dead and the injured continues.

Bush and Obama: Dangerous Narcissists

by Stephen Lendman

Canadian psychiatrist Robert Hare analyzes psychopathic behavior. He does so clinically. He believes about 1% of the general population is insane. So are 10% of Wall Street employees, he says.

By John Grant

I write a lot of critical things about militarism, our unnecessary wars and our growing surveillance/police state. So it was heartwarming to watch the videos and listen to the stories from the Boston Marathon bombing about civilian “first-responders” who chose not to flee but to wade into a very messy situation.

Post-Boston Bombings Fear-Mongering

by Stephen Lendman

On April 17, major media reported Obama and Senator Roger Wicker (R. MI) receiving letters containing suspicious substances. 

FBI testing continues. Initial evaluations confirmed ricin. A subsequent statement reported "inconsistent results." Further analysis is being conducted. 

Washington v. Venezuela

by Stephen Lendman

Longstanding US plans prioritize regime change. It's the oil, stupid! Venezuela has the world's largest reserves. It's a prize Washington covets. More on that below.

Post-election US-orchestrated destabilization continues. Venezuelans elected Nicolas Maduro president. The electoral process was scrupulously open, free and fair. The result is indisputable.

Marathon Terror: Homegrown or State-Sponsored?

by Stephen Lendman

Boston's marathon is the modern world's oldest. It's the best known. It's an annual tradition. It's been held since 1897. It's one of six World Marathon Majors.

Thousands of runners participate. Professionals and amateurs compete. Hundreds of thousands of spectators watch it. They do so throughout its 26.2 mile route.