Bold and Daring: The Way Progressive News Should Be
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Scott Baker raises an interesting question here:
I've encouraged him to write a full article.
We need to be raising a lot more questions.
And isn't it odd that the guy Obama ran AGAINST, McCain, is the one who is saving his butt now? Wasn't he the guy the people of the US voted down?
rob kall
  Daily Headlines
A number of U.S. military members have been posting Facebook photos taking strong opposition to any American involvement in Syria.
Forgetting lessons from the Tonkin Gulf to the Iraq War, the U.S. news media has mostly elbowed past doubts about whether the Syrian government launched the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack and now is focused on the political drama of congressional approval for war, a big mistake.
On Syria. The background to Syrian conflict.Will military strikes achieve anything? Options.
By Dennis Trainor, Jr.
The Obama Deception On Syria: Debunking the Lies, Hubris, and Myopia In The March To War. 
the United States is not on a humanitarian mission. Neither is it taking sides in a Syrian civil war. As horrific a dictator as Assad is, some of the rebel forces have direct links to Al-Qaeda and so are not so likely to advance US interests in the region were they to topple Assad. With that in mind, we will take a detailed look at the lies, hubris, and lack of vision in Obama's Syria deception speech of August 31.
By Richard Girard
Libertarianism in Its Destructive Phase: Or Why Responsibility for Yourself Just Isn't Enough, Part 2 
Part 2, as promised, although I did change the opening epigram to something more appropriate. Judith Ayers and Barbara Sostatia said it best, "Despite the libertarian rhetoric of individualism, we are all intricately connected, and have been given the opportunity to craft our communities and government together."
It is a melancholy object to those who view videos of Damascus, when they see the streets, the roads, and doorways, crowded with the bodies of those reportedly killed with the wrong weapons by the wrong people.
By now, any decent lawyer would be asking cui bono? What would be Assad's motive -- to cross the "red line" and launch a chemical weapons attack on the day UN inspectors arrive in Damascus, just 15 kilometers away from their hotel?
It almost certain that Congress will approve the killing of Syrians; indeed, many powerful figures in both parties are eager to kill even more Syrians than Obama is proposing to kill at the moment. So barring some unforeseen turn, the killing will come -- and the tragedy in Syria will be darkened with new blood.
By Stephen Pizzo
History On a Deadly Roll These days I find myself drawn to history books. Which probably explains the almost constant sense of deja vu that pervades my waking hours.
By Michel Chossudovsky
US-Allied Warships off Syrian Coastline: Naval Deployment Decided "Before" the August 21 Chemical Weapons Attack 
History tells us that wars are often triggered unexpectedly as a result of "political mistakes" and human error. The latter are all the more likely within the realm of a divisive and corrupt political system in the US and Western Europe. Civilian politicians responding to dominant economic interests ultimately decide on the launching of a major theater war.
Obama is justly criticized by the Left and Right, but critics go too far in attacking the man, not his policies. As with Clinton, this only makes defenders blind to his real faults.
It seems obvious that if the Internet is really reviving American democracy, as its celebrants claim, it's taking a roundabout route. The hand of capital seems heavier and heavier on the steering wheel, taking us to places way off the democratic grid, and nowhere is the Internet's failure clearer or the stakes higher than in journalism..
By willy scanlon
Physicians make Really Bad Dictators and equally crazy Politicians. The world's worst dictators and some of the craziest politicians have all been doctors.
China confirms plans for first Moon visit later this year. "Chang'e-3 has officially entered its launch stage, following its research and manufacture period," reports the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
NUS Engineering team makes artificial muscles which can lift loads 80 times its weight, a first in robotics
A research-intensive university with an entrepreneurial dimension, NUS is ranked consistently as one of the world's top universities.
As a homeowner of 20+ years and former auto mechanic as well as a tool freak/gearhead, I knew I was capable of fixing and building lots of things. I had done a bit of remodeling and am comfortable with electrical and plumbing. I have an excellent rating on Angie's List and that's been a huge boost. I am enjoying the work and feel really good about this career. I sometimes say "I now have the best boss ever!"
Boulder CO. Activists figured out how to cut some awful monolithic companies out of our lives. The companies are not amused. How the activists proceeded toward having a locally owned municipal utility, in order to be able to make energy choices that would benefit humankind and the whole planet. They created a reproducible model for how a community can take action against climate change by phasing out fossil fuels, and transition to a grid dominated by renewable energy. David beat Goliath in round one...now it's time for round two, and the end result will affect the world.
Let me get this: our wariest, pragmatist-in-chief, the cautious-to-a-fault "devout non-ideologue," singles out Syria as the moral hill he wants to die. Then, displaying real class when pushed to win Congressional support, he declares in advance no commander-in-chief is beholden to representative government.
As Obama begins work persuading Congress to allow him to bomb Syria, perhaps the time has come for a Great Awakening.
By Jay Janson
Dream Anniversary Celebration Shrouds King's "Beyond Vietnam' Nightmare Sermon, His Martyrdom, Syrians 
As US threatens Syria - 2013 "I Have a Dream' anniversary. No mention of the 1967 King, condemner of America's 'atrocity wars', who belatedly wanted to include the poor being slaughtered overseas for US investment profits in his dream of a just America. War investor owned conglomerate media promotes a patriotic war disinterested King, continues black out martyred King's fiery condemnation of atrocity wars for investments.
An expose of U.S. media claims that the Syrian government used gas attacks on its own people. Why would we trust the media and U.S> government officials who already lied to us about Iraq in 2003?
The debate we're about to have will affect the lives of many people, and will determine whether fellow human beings live or die. A decision this grave can't be made in haste, or out of anger. It must be considered and discussed carefully and thoroughly. There are moments in history when we're called upon to act as if the future is watching us -- because it is.
Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning's legal team filed her request for a presidential pardon on Tuesday. The pardon document will be available starting Wednesday at pardon.bradleymanning.org, the Private Manning Support Network said.
By David Swanson
Who the Missiles Will Hurt Believe it or not -- after John McCain played video games on his phone during a hearing on bombing Syria, and Eleanor Holmes Norton said she'd only vote to bomb Syria out of loyalty to Obama -- there are decent people in the United States government who mean well and take their responsibilities seriously. One of them, who works on actual humanitarian aid (as opposed to humanitarian bombs) spoke to me.
President Barack Obama heads this week to a global summit in Russia, hoping to rally international support for his bid to launch a military strike against Syria. But allies are treading cautiously, particularly after the British Parliament shot down Prime Minister David Cameron's request for military action. And Obama's call to seek approval from a divided U.S. Congress further muddles the global calculus. He visits Sweden Wednesday, then arrives in Russia on Thursday.
Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reached an agreement late Tuesday on wording of a new resolution authorizing U.S. military force against the Syrian government. The resolution would permit up to 90 days of military action against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, beginning with 60 days and the option of 30 more pending President Obama's notification of Congress, according to a copy of the resolution provided by Senate aides.
By Larry Everest
Obama's Speech on Syria: Lies to Justify an Immoral War Analysis of Obama's 8/31 speech arguing for war while seeking Congressional support.
Assad told the French newspaper Le Figaro a strong man prevents rather than starts a war. He said if Obama was strong, he would have said publicly the only way to proceed is through U.N. investigations. Assad also warned that if attacked, Syria could turn the Middle East into a war zone that goes far beyond Syrian borders.
By earl ofari hutchinson
President Obama's Syria Strike Poses Major Challenge to Backers Within moments after President Obama bluntly indicated that he was ready and willing to strike Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces for its alleged mass chemical attack on civilians, dozens of the most liberal House Democrats signed a letter warning him to tread very carefully on any Syrian action. Their message was cautious, gentile, and diplomatic. The implication behind it was that an Obama administration strike against S
The notion that the President of the United States, with or without Congressional approval, has the authority to act as the world's "policeman" and punish violators of international laws, that it itself flaunts, is offensive and dangerous. Let's hope that Congress listens to the people this time around and tells the President to keep his cruise missiles to himself.
Latest Articles
The Syrian Threat
A poem outlining the arguments not to launch a strike against Syria.
The Official Guide to Olympic Behavior from the Russian Ministry of Sexual Hygiene
Let the people lead
The current crisis in Syria is poised to magnify and exacerbate existing global problems for the wealth of war via military spending and rebuilding. Here is a better alternative.
The band 'Calling All Astronauts' song and video 'What's So Good About?' has, IMO, an important message and I think it deserves a watch.
Why is Facebook helping Turkey's war on the Aryan Kurds?
Option Two, favored by Washington, is for the US and Turkey to work together with the moderate, but rival, Iraqi Kurdish clans -- the Barzanis and Talabanis -- to set up a power structure that can fill the northern Iraq vacuum.
Be prepared for a weeklong charade of war monger bloviating in Washington w/ a full court press by the Obama administration on the Congress for them to vote & give the president cover in sending a missile strike "message" to Syrian Pres. Bashar Assad over his alleged chemical weapons use last week. It still won't be legal & a clear violation of the U.N. Charter. Syria didn't attack the U.S. & is no imminent threat to the U.S.
Congressional Progressive/Pentagon Caucus
The CPC, on the question of a new war on Syria, is choosing to do nothing at all. In fact, one of its two co-chairs is actively promoting war.
Follow the Trillions (If You Can)
Tax shelters are hiding estimated trillions in assets worldwide, owned by the global elite and multi-national corporations, with billions lost in tax revenue. A direct line can be drawn between this fraud, the undue influence of money in the electoral process, and Supreme Court decisions bestowing inherent Constitutional rights on corporations.
How We Can Know that the South's Decision to Secede Was an Act of Outlawry
The South and President Lincoln disagreed about the right of states to secede. It was a legitimate disagreement. There are constitutional ways to deal with such disagreements. The South's arrogating upon itself the right to decide the issue on its own, and defend its position by force of arms, is emphatically NOT one of those constitutional ways. Hence the secession was an act of outlawry.
Speaking truth to the powerful is considered a valiant act, although in most instances, it's also futile. The reason seems to be that the powerful have a lot to conserve and aren't much interested in anyone's truth but their own.
Rubin wants the job of Fed Chair to go to his top protégée, Larry Summers. Yellen, as Vice Chair of the Fed stands in the way of Rubin's ambitions.
The head of California's prison system, where a hunger strike is now entering its ninth week, is a psychologist with over thirty years of training and experience. But despite belonging to a profession that prioritizes the promotion of human welfare, Dr. Jeffrey Beard has chosen to repeatedly misrepresent the seriousness and legitimacy of the striking prisoners' concerns.
Tom Engelhardt, Alone and Delusional on Planet Earth
In an increasingly phantasmagorical world, here's my present fantasy of choice: someone from General Keith Alexander's outfit, the National Security Agency, tracks down H.G. Wells's time machine in the attic of an old house in London. Britain's subservient Government Communications Headquarters, its version of the NSA, is paid off and the contraption is flown to Fort Meade, Maryland, where it's put back in working order.  Best News Links from the Web
Egyptian forces have demolished six tunnels and 20 homes near the Gaza border since Sunday, an Egyptian security official said Monday. Egypt's navy has deployed lightly-armed warships off the coast of the border and banned fishing near Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid. A senior Egyptian military official said Sunday that Egypt plans to impose a 500-meter buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that he will support President Barack Obama's call for U.S. military intervention in Syria. "This is something that the United States as a country needs to do," Boehner said. "I am going to support the president's call for action. I believe that my colleagues should support this call for action."
Using a new modelling tool and more comprehensive indicators, researchers were able to map the flow of raw materials across the world economy with unprecedented accuracy to determine the true "material footprint" of 186 countries over a two-decade period (from 1990 to 2008). The results confirm that pressures on raw materials do not necessarily decline as affluence grows and demonstrates the need for policy-makers to consider new accounting methods that more accurately track resource consumption.
With new insights into the classical game theory match-up known as the "Prisoner's Dilemma," biologists offer a mathematically based explanation for why cooperation and generosity have evolved in nature. "You might think being generous would be a stupid thing to do, and it is if there are only two players in the game, but, if there are many players and they all play generously, they all benefit from each other's generosity."
A two megawatt installation off the coast of Australia aims to power a large-scale desalination process with advanced wave energy technology.
The number of Syrian refugees has passed the two million mark, a United Nations agency said on Tuesday, warning that the world faces its greatest threat to peace since the Vietnam war.
How can we claim exceptionalism, the higher moral ground, the best country in the world, the world's big brother status with this statistics?
Because Obama's attack on Syria followed Bush's logic, you'd assume that liberal, progressive, and other Left groups would do what they did when Bush went to war: denounce it unconditionally and organize against it. But that's not what happened. Because this didn't happen, less accurate information was made available to the public, and fewer public mobilizations have occurred, thus re-enforcing Obama's ability to wage an aggressive war.
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