Exposing the Talking Points for War
By Diane Farsetta, Counterpunch, 12 August 2008
Do you wonder how the Pentagon used its military analyst program to spin military operations in Afghanistan, the Guantanamo Bay detention center or another issue? Are you curious whether a certain group or person — say, Vets for Freedom or John McCain — is mentioned in the Pentagon documents? Now you can easily search through the more than eight thousand pages of Pentagon pundit records.
And history makes fun of its victims
And its heroes
Takes a look at them and passes by
This sea is mine
This moist air is mine
And my name –
Even if I spell it wrong on the coffin –
Is mine
As for me,
Now that I am filled with all the possible
Reasons for departure –
I am not mine.
I am not mine
I am not mine…
(Mural)
“Army Nurse”
THE ISHMAEL REED QUINTET: For All We Know
(Purchase the album)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nicosia/Lefkosia, Cyprus, August 7. The Free Gaza Movement announced today that their boats, destined to break the Israelis’ siege of Gaza, will arrive in Chania, Crete, on Saturday, August 9, at 9 p.m. and that a press conference will be held to welcome their arrival. “Internationals are gathering across the world – in Beijing and Cyprus – with the common dream of peace and justice for everyone.”
Human rights activists Lauren Booth, journalist, (sister in law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair), Huwaida Arraf (a Palestinian-American residing in Ramallah, Palestine), and Jeff Halper (an Israeli Jew who was nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for opposing demolitions of Palestinian homes) will be available at the press conference for interviews.
“This will be the first time that our two boats will be publicly displayed and photographers are welcome to come, take photos and post their images.” said Paul Larudee, on board the boats sailing toward Chania.
The Free Gaza Movement is endorsed by an impressive array of international groups and personalities including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Former Prime Minister of Lebanon Dr. Salim Al-Hoss. For additional information, www.freegaza.org
We are a week late, but we are more determined than ever to go to Gaza. By now, almost half of the people are on board or traveling to the boats, and those of us left in Cyprus are finishing up our training, working on banners and trying to control our impatience. When we called the people of Gaza to tell them we would arrive a week late, their reply was, “Don’t worry. We know you are coming. And we are waiting,” a testament to their confidence that 40 Internationals, two small boats, and tremendous media attention can somehow defeat the Israeli Navy.
Some of the survivors of the USS Liberty have written to us and asked us to be on one of their programs tomorrow night. They wrote this request of us:
Ben Lilliston, Think Forward, 6 August 2008
As the failed seven-year odyssey to complete the Doha Round of negotiations at the WTO has shown, we need to start developing new systems of global governance. This is particularly true when it comes to agriculture and food.
A series of three reports IATP published today look in detail at how global institutions like the WTO, World Bank and IMF have undermined basic human rights, stalled international development and harmed the environment. The reports are part of our “New Global Contract” series, which highlights conflicts between global institutions and internationally-recognized rights, and points toward more accountable and sustainable alternatives.
By Dave Zirin, Edge of Sports, 1 August 2008
Jonah Goldberg’s regular column in the LA Times is usually an awkward grab bag of right wing talking points backed by knowledge of history that would shame a poodle, although a poodle would never be so pompous. Goldberg stepped on to my beat this past week with a column about the 1968 Olympic protestors, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. His piece was such a cheap, dishonest scribble, I feel compelled to respond. The column’s starting point was the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, given to Smith and Carlos at the recent 2008 ESPY Awards. Lest you had any doubt about Goldberg’s take, the headline blares, “’68 Olympics salute deserves no honor: ESPN ignored the violent extremism behind the black power salute given by two medalists at the Mexico City Games.”
One could tell right away that Goldberg didn’t read a book, an article, even a fortune cookie, about the 1968 Olympics before whipping out his laptop. I know, research is hard … and who needs facts when you have dogma? — but Smith and Carlos never advocated any kind of violence. Furthermore, they saw their symbol as a sign of resistance that would connect broadly across ethnicities, not a narrow expression of “black power”.
But the title turns out to be the intellectual summit of the piece.
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