The Socialist Origins of the Pledge of Allegiance (tags)
Francis Bellamy, a Christian socialist, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892 as a critique of the rampant greed, misguided materialism, and hyper-individualism of the Gilded Age. But you'd never know that by reading CNN contributor Bob Greene's column earlier this week called "The Peculiar History of the Pledge of Allegiance."
Review: max Blumenthal "Goliath" (tags)
Eric Alterman is a Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York,
Obama's Broken Resolutions and Occupy White House (tags)
Generalized security requires a social net, not lies and trillions to the banks. There has been a 30-year war in which the voice of business became louder. The financial sector must be shriveled. Private losses cannot become public losses. 14 million jobs can be created.
Why America's 99% have rebelled (tags)
They sign their messages, ‘I am the 99%’. Tthe message of the site is immediately clear: while our society’s richest one per cent enjoys a hugely disproportionate share of wealth and income, the economy has left the vast majority of us behind.
Ten Years After 9/11, Time to End Perpetual War (tags)
Peace and resistance are part of our nature as antibodies are part of our bodies. Education is the great transformer (JK Galbraith). Diversity, tolerance and nonviolence are imperatives threatened by a warrior cult.
In my column for the June issue of the New Internationalist, I write about "Palm Trees in the Snow" as a metaphor for the big lie conservatives are telling about the budget crises in our states. There are no palm trees in Wisconsin. And public fiscal problems were not caused by union greed.
US military spending marches on (tags)
Sec. Gates astounded many this week in declaring that anyone desiring a long-term land war in the Middle East "should have his head examined." Empires like Narcissus fall in love with their reflection and drown. The US empire could become a republic (Chalmers Johnson).
American Empire Foreclosed? (tags)
Mark Engler, a writer based in New York City, is a senior analyst with Foreign Policy In Focus and the author of How to Rule the World: The Coming Battle Over the Global Economy (Nation Books, 2008). He can be reached via the Web site http://www.DemocracyUprising.com.
Spreading the Wealth: A Review of Unjust Deserts (tags)
The foremost ethical question is, given that we owe most of our productivity to a common social inheritance, to what extent can we say that we have "earned" our personal wealth? There is a growing consensus in favor of a new robust public compact to regulate our shared conditions.
Mon 6/9 Jeremy Scahill Returns to LA, As So-Cal Continues to Battle Blackwater on Border (tags)
As So-Cal Battles Blackwater Training Facility on Cal-Mex Border, Jeremy Scahill is VISITING LOS ANGELES for talk, discussion, and book signing for the release of the fully updated paperback edition: WHEN: MONDAY, JUNE 9TH AT 7:00 PM WHERE: Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Westminster Chapel 3300 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90010 (@Berendo Street, 2 blocks west of Vermont Ave.)
Int'l Womyn's Day Celebrated (tags)
Quotes from thoughtful womyn, to help us remember who we all are and what we do....
In one of the company's most bizarre recent actions, on December 1 Blackwater paratroopers staged a dramatic aerial landing, complete with Blackwater flags and parachutes--not in Baghdad or Kabul but in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium during the halftime show at the San Diego State/BYU football game. The location was interesting, given that Blackwater is fighting fierce local opposition to its attempt to open a new camp--Blackwater West--on 824 acres in the small rural community of Potrero, just outside San Diego.
BTL:Former UN Weapons Inspector Declares President Bush Now Plans... (tags)
...War Against Iran. Interview with former UN Chief Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
Scott Ritter, back from Iran, in Venice 11/3 (tags)
Scott Ritter was right about the Bush administration's false claims concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Therefore, everyone who cares about such issues should listen very carefully to what he has to say. Ritter has just returned from Iran.
Is the badly outnumbered American expeditionary force in Iraq in trouble? Is it in danger of being trapped? With all our firepower, are we looking at the possibility of some kind of a military defeat?
How the Mexican Election was Stolen (tags)
When Lopez Obrador addressed the press at 8:30, he condemned "the spectacle of the dance of numbers" and announced that the PRD and its political allies would impugn the election -- he had proof of anomalies in 40,000 polling places (a third of the total)
The Ominous Shadow of 1988 this July Mexican Presidential Election elección presidencial (tags)
With 20 Days to Go before the Vote, the Spectre of Electoral Fraud - and Subsequent Repression - Haunts a Nation La sombra siniestra de 1988 libraciones sobre la elección presidencial mexicana de este julio
The Ominous Shadow of 1988 Hovers Over this July’s Mexican Presidential Election (tags)
With 20 Days to Go before the Vote, the Spectre of Electoral Fraud - and Subsequent Repression - Haunts a Nation
Gore VIdal and Scott Ritter (tags)
Former weapons inspector Scott Ritter will join legendary writer-radical reformer Gore Vidal in LA on March 4.
Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector and author of Iraq Confidential (Nation Books), and Lila Garrett, host of KPFK's "Connect the Dots," had an incisive discussion on how to extract ourselves from the Iraq quagmire.
BTL:Mexican Civil Society Rises Up to Protest Ruling Party's Attempt to... (tags)
...Keep Progressive Candidate Off Presidential Ballot~ Interview with John Ross, journalist and author, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
BTL:Continuing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Poses Grave Risks for U.S. (tags)
Interview with Clayton Swisher, author and Middle East analyst, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
"On Tuesday morning, a piece was torn out of our world. A patch of blue sky that should not have been there opened up in the New York skyline. In my neighborhood -- I live six blocks from the World Trade Center -- the heavens were raining human beings. Our city was changed forever. Our country was changed forever. Our world was changed forever."
BTL:President Stumbles in Reacting to the Public Unraveling of... (tags)
...White House Justification for Iraq War. Interview with Bill Hartung, World Policy Institute, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
The Real but Unspoken Reasons for the Iraq War (tags)
Although completely suppressed in the U.S. media, the answer to the Iraq enigma is simple yet shocking. The upcoming war in Iraq is actually an OIL CURRENCY war. The Real Reason for this upcoming war is this administration’s goal of preventing further OPEC momentum towards the euro as an oil transaction currency standard. However, in order to pre-empt OPEC, they need to gain geo-strategic control of Iraq along with its 2nd largest proven oil reserves. (This is a long essay)