Sam Harris Simply Destroys Catholicism
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Category Archives: Imperialism
Updated Version of Noam Chomsky’s “9/11” Book Takes On Bin Laden’s Death, Imperial Mentality
Chomsky argues that the US government has done exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted it to do: Dig into a series of expensive and bloody wars in Muslim countries, draining the American economy and causing many civilian casualties. . . 9-11 is a crash course in America’s terrorism against inconvenient regimes, and a primer in the ways that those in power have misled the American public by suggesting that September 11 happened in a vacuum. . . He explains the hypocrisy of the US government’s definition of terrorism – the use of violence for political or psychological goals rather than monetary gain – in light of the fact that US government agencies have been using exactly those methods for decades, directly and indirectly.
Obama Being Pushed To Be More “Patriotic” By The GOP
The nut-pack running for the Republican nomination for president are nutty for America. And anyone who isn’t as nutty as they are, why they must be Kenyan crypto-socialists. So in response to the continued criticism by these wackos, the President is having to defend his belief in American exceptionalism.
Which is sad. These dim-wits are still living in the era of “manifest destiny” and thinking that the USA is God’s favorite country of all. I expect that Rick Perry further believes that Texas is God;s favoritest state of the 50. They seriously can’t stand the idea that America should be seen as “just another country.
Why not? What is so awful about the idea that America might be less than perfect, that we might experience failure as well as success, that we might have to answer to the rest of the world when we fv<k up, the way we expect all other countries to do? We CAN’T see ourselves as “exceptional” without being in danger of sliding onto the path of the Roman Empire and the 3rd Reich. I’d prefer that we start to feel a little humility, and deport ourselves with a little courtesy toward everything in the wide world that ISN’T “America.”
Seriously… we ought to consider growing up.
by SouthernFriedInfidel | Published on December 4th, 2011, 11:33 am
The Other Debt Crisis: Climate Debt
The climate crisis in Bolivia is not a headline or an abstraction – it is playing out in people’s lives in real time.
Melting glaciers are threatening the water supply of the country’s two biggest cities. Increasing droughts and floods are playing havoc with agriculture.
So it is no surprise that in climate negotiations, Bolivia is emerging as a leader in the global south – advancing both radical solutions and analysis that make rich countries distinctly nervous.
On this edition of Fault Lines, Avi Lewis travels to Bolivia to explore the country’s climate crusade from the inside.
It is the story of an emerging movement, based in the global south, raising questions about who owes what to whom in confronting the climate crisis.
And it is playing out in Bolivia’s epic landscape – from the tropical glaciers to the endless salt flats. A landscape that in normal times seems to mock the very idea that human beings can change the course of nature.
Thanksgiving Day or “ThanksTaking” Day?
The Stream speaks to actor and activist Russell Means about indigenous land rights and preserving Native American culture.
Why I Do Not Support the Troops!
This is the first time since I read Major General Smedley Darlington Butler’s (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) classic, must read, War is a Racket, that anyone has expressed my sentiments so eloquently!
What Next?
It has become clear to everyone except the professional political class that things cannot go on this way. . . The most important fact is that the neo-liberal experiment of the last few decades, what one might call the Great Leap Backward, has failed. In fact this project must be considered to constitute as great a crime against humanity as Stalin’s or Mao’s. . . In economic terms the measure of capitalism’s failure is the growth of inequality. The gap between the global rich and poor has increased over the last few decades. Wealth does not ‘trickle down’, on the contrary it is siphoned up. . .
Read more . . .
Bill Moyers: “Our Politicians Are Money Launderers in the Trafficking of Power and Policy”
Journalist Bill Moyers delivers the keynote address at Public Citizen’s 40th Anniversary Gala. For more information, visit http://www.citizen.org/40gala.
The Battle of Military Suicides
[T]he Veterans Administration now estimates that a veteran dies by suicide every 80 minutes. The problem is systemic and growing. Tomorrow, the Center for a New American Security will issue the report “Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide.’’ In a compelling narrative, the authors, Dr. Margaret Harrell and Nancy Berglass, provide workable recommendations to address this national crisis. But perhaps the study’s longest-lasting contribution is its explanation of why we, as a nation, should care at all. There has always been the do-gooder answer – that this is what we owe to the men and women who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the suicide crisis is really about the future of our military. The shocking number of suicides in the all-volunteer force will make recruitment of the best talent vastly more difficult. Heartstrings aside, if service in an all-volunteer army comes to be associated with depression and misery, then solving the problem is as crucial for the next war as the ones now winding down. This simple fact – that the fight against suicide is both about the individual and the institution – means the military can’t rest until its suicide rate is as low as that of the general population. And it must understand the different needs of those who have served and those who still wear the uniform.
Tax The 1%
One thousand denizens,
One San Francisco beach,
And one hard-to-ignore message . . .
Always Question Authority 