The Global Magazine Of Liberally Applied Critical Examination
First 100 days of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill: An animated timeline of events
Click image to watch animation >>>
The scope of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the toll of the damage, the voices of loss
All Antemedius stories about BP's Gulf of Mexico oil gusher are filed under the tag Deepwater Horizon
Obama's "New Dawn" in Iraq
by Edger,September 2, 2010 - 4:47pm
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq the occupation of Iraq has been called Operation Iraqi Freedom by the Pentagon and the US administration.
In February this year the Obama administration decided to give the war in Iraq a new name: "Operation New Dawn".
Ironically, since it appears to have slipped down the memory hole for so many, "Operation New Dawn" was the name given to the second 2004 attack on and massacre of Iraqis, with the use of white phosphorus on Iraqi civilians by US Troops, in Fallujah.
Phyllis Bennis is a Senior Analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, and is the author of Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11 Crisis, of Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power, and of Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer.
Bennis has in the past argued for US reparations to be paid to Iraq for the years of US occupation and the destruction and damage inflicted on Iraq and the country's peoples by the 2003 invasion and the occupation.
In an interview recorded Tuesday with Real News Network CEO Paul Jay, Bennis analyses Obama's Oval Office Address on Iraq, August 31, 2010, about how Obama has adopted the Bush narrative about Iraq, and touches a bit on Iraq's future and on the future of US foreign policies in the region, as well as somewhat about how those policies affect Iran and Afghanistan.
Real News Network - September 1, 2010
Transcript below
How Can U.S. Achieve Credibility While Ignoring Iraqi Deaths?
by billhare,September 1, 2010 - 4:57pm
One of the grave tragedies of our times is how Iraqi deaths receive no accountability. This occurs at the point where President Obama and others hold the U.S. out as a major source to achieve global stability.
The question is this: How can the U.S. hold itself out as a guardian of peace and security when the subject of Iraqi deaths extending from that first “shock and awe” aerial assault to the present is ignored?
It should be recalled that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sought to assure Americans that newly developed U.S. “smart bombs” would penetrate the forces of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but would bypass Iraq’s citizenry.
As for the U.S. dodging accountability, a comment made by General Colin Powell in the aftermath of the earlier Gulf War is instructive for the tragedy of avoiding responsibility that it denotes.
The Permanent U.S. Bases in the Iraq the U.S. Is Supposedly Leaving
by Edger,September 1, 2010 - 4:19pm
Hat tip to David Swanson at WarIsACrime.org.
"New markets for our goods stretch from Asia to the Americas"
"...we have not done what is necessary to shore up the foundation of our own prosperity. We have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits. For too long, we have put off tough decisions on everything from our manufacturing base to our energy policy to education reform. As a result, too many middle class families find themselves working harder for less, while our nation's long-term competitiveness is put at risk."
-- Barack Obama, Oval Office Address on Iraq, August 31, 2010
Do YOU Want The Republicans To Win?
by Thadius K Lindahl,September 1, 2010 - 1:52pm
Then follow the current Dem "strategy."
Republicans are vicious thugs who will do literally anything to get and keep power.
Power that they then use to screw Americans and enrich the elite.
They will kill the economy for the rest of us, for the rest of the world, so that they can grow richer. They will kill every safety net the American People have. They will start wars of aggression and kill hundreds of thousands of innocents to get what they want. They will torture to get what they want. They will subvert the Department of Justice to get what they want. They will pursue political prosecutions to get what they want, and they will steal elections to get what they want. They will impeach Presidents to get what they want.
There is literally nothing that they will not do to get what they want.
They will even kill the entire planet by refusing to address Climate Change, by questioning that science itself is legitimate.
And the Democrats, including Obama last night, praise them for it. And call them patriots. They reach out their hands in bipartisanship and beg them for their votes. Even as the Republicans lie about Death Panels and refuse to state that Obama is an American and is not a Muslim.
Let's Fact Check the AP's Fact Checking on Obama's Speech
by davidswanson,September 1, 2010 - 8:52am
By David Swanson
FACT CHECK: Is Iraq combat really over for US?
By CALVIN WOODWARD and ROBERT BURNS (AP)
WASHINGTON — Despite President Barack Obama's declaration Tuesday of an end to the combat mission in Iraq, combat almost certainly lies ahead. And in asserting the U.S. has met its responsibilities in Iraq, the president opened the door wide to a debate about the meaning of success in the muddle that most — but not all — American troops are leaving behind. A look at some of the statements Obama made in his Oval Office speech and how they compare with the facts:___
OBAMA: "Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended."
November 2010 - Looking Into The Abyss
by Bill Egnor,September 1, 2010 - 6:23am
Nietzsche said"
“When we look into the abyss, searching for monsters, the abyss looks into us as well”.
Right now we are staring the abyss in the face and there are indeed monsters there. This abyss is the elections this fall. The chance that radical Republicans will take over the House and perhaps the Senate has grown. The affect of constant lies from Fox News and Talk Radio have energized the Republican base. The limp leadership from the White House and from Majority Leader Reid has demoralized the Democratic base.
The passing of many of the Lefts long term wish list items, barely and with tons of ridiculous and galling compromise has created a situation where the Right is fired up and the Left is angry at its own leadership. The conditions are in place for a wave election and the wave is not likely to go the way that we Liberals are going to like in any fashion.
New Gulf Compensation Chief Lags in Processing Claims
by ProPublica,August 31, 2010 - 1:37pm
from Sasha Chavkin,
ProPublica (view source)
Just over a week ago, when Kenneth Feinberg took over the process for handling damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, he promised to cut through the delays and confusion that applicants faced under the much-maligned BP system.
But signs are emerging that Feinberg’s goals – particularly his pledge to respond to personal claims for emergency payments within 48 hours – may be overly ambitious. Applicants participating in our BP Claims Project say that they have not received responses within two days of filing claims and that they have encountered an array of service problems, from a system crash to difficulty in transferring critical paperwork.
Amy Weiss, Feinberg’s spokeswoman, acknowledged on Sunday that the facility was experiencing delays. “In the first few weeks...we may be short of our 48-hour goal,” Weiss said in an e-mail.
Weiss said many of the claims could not be processed because they lacked sufficient documentation, and that the new Gulf Coast Claims Facility has approved about $6 million in payments to just under 1,200 individuals. Statistics from the GCCF indicate that only about 6 percent of total claims – for both individuals and businesses – had been paid as of Monday.
ACLU And CCR File Suit Against Obama Administration For Targeted Killings
by Bill Egnor,August 31, 2010 - 6:14am
In the movie Witness, there is a scene where a little Amish boy, who has witnessed a murder, takes the gun of the detective who is there to protect him from a chest of drawers. He is caught by his grandfather who sits him down for a talk. The grandfather asks if the boy would use this gun to kill. The boy says that he would only kill a bad man. The grandfather asks “How will you know who is the bad man?” This is the central point of our system of justice, we don’t just assume that someone is a bad man before punishing them, we have an elaborate process designed to require proof of actions before we punish.
"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"
Unfortunately our trauma with terrorism has eroded this system. Today, as you read this, there is a list of people around the world who are targeted for death. They are suspected of being involved with terror plots, and some of them are your fellow citizens. If they are found anywhere in the world by our forces they will be killed. Not captured and brought to trial, not attempted to be captured, but killed out right.
US Economy Grinds To Halt... Again
by Edger,August 30, 2010 - 6:59am
Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.
What began as a routine report before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday ended with Bernanke passionately disavowing the entire concept of currency, and negating in an instant the very foundation of the world's largest economy.
"Though raising interest rates is unlikely at the moment, the Fed will of course act appropriately if we...if we..." said Bernanke, who then paused for a moment, looked down at his prepared statement, and shook his head in utter disbelief. "You know what? It doesn't matter. None of this—this so-called 'money'—really matters at all."
"It's just an illusion," a wide-eyed Bernanke added as he removed bills from his wallet and slowly spread them out before him. "Just look at it: Meaningless pieces of paper with numbers printed on them. Worthless."
Arson And Reported Gun Shots At TN Islamic Center Site
by Bill Egnor,August 30, 2010 - 6:45am
The anti-Muslim whirlwind continues to be reaped in the United States. For all that the Sarah Palins and Rudy Giuliani’s of the world think that the fight over the Park51 Islamic Center is confined to Manhattan the reality is that it is spreading and getting more and more violent. This weekend the site of new Islamic center outside Nashville was fire bombed. No one was hurt but some very expensive construction equipment was destroyed. Then when some of the members of the group building the mosque were looking at the site, they heard shots fired and reported it to local police.
"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"
Revisiting Predictions: Naomi Klein on Barack Obama
by Edger,August 29, 2010 - 6:34pm
In August 2008 Paul Jay of The Real News Network interviewed journalist Naomi Klein about Barack Obama's campaign and promises. Two years down the road we can look back and compare what he said with what he's done.
Obama's foreign policy positions have become indistinguishable from those of John McCain or of George Bush. His campaign for the presidency was virtually built around absorbing, co-opting and quieting the anti-war/anti-fascist/anti-imperialist movements.
How far do you go before winning becomes losing, and becomes just a shiny new paintjob hawked by a very good salesman?
August 26, 2008 - 9 min 38 sec
Naomi Klein on Obama
and the intellectual and political integrity of the progressive movement
Liberally Critical Thinking News, policy analysis and context Social and political commentary To inform and provoke |
 |
Log InMake A New Account
The Latest
- September 1, 2010 - 4:57pmby:billharecomments:0
- September 1, 2010 - 8:52amby:davidswansoncomments:0
- August 28, 2010 - 11:39pmby:davidswansoncomments:0
- August 23, 2010 - 3:12pmby:billharecomments:1
- August 17, 2010 - 3:43pmby:Thadius K Lindahlcomments:2
- August 17, 2010 - 12:28pmby:billharecomments:0
- August 13, 2010 - 8:33pmby:billharecomments:0
- September 1, 2010 - 4:19pmby:Edgercomments:1
- August 31, 2010 - 1:37pmby:ProPublicacomments:0
- August 31, 2010 - 6:14amby:Bill Egnorcomments:0
- August 30, 2010 - 6:45amby:Bill Egnorcomments:0
- January 31, 2010 - 12:13amby:Edgercomments:0
- September 5, 2009 - 8:58amby:Sherwood Rosscomments:0
- April 27, 2009 - 9:49amby:Jason Leopoldcomments:0
- August 18, 2009 - 3:17pmby:davidswansoncomments:0
and Best of the Web news videos
Support Antemedius
Subscribe
Comments
Navigation
 |
Formal Petition to Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes.
