Section: Salon (USA)
We’re never winning these wars: America has zero to show for its decades of bloodshed in the Middle East
It may be hard to believe now, but in 1970 the protest song “War,” sung by Edwin Starr, hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was at the height of the Vietnam antiwar movement and the song, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, became something of a sensation. Even so many years later, who could forget its famed chorus?...
This is how we spooked Putin: What the New York Times won’t tell you about the American adventure in Ukraine
All of a sudden, straight out of nowhere, Ukraine creeps back into the news. There is renewed fighting in the rebellious eastern regions. There is political warfare in Kiev. There is paralysis in the upper reaches. There is some new formation called the Revolutionary Right Forces occupying the Maidan—the very same Independence Square where, two...
How Delaware became an American haven for “grand corruption”
Normally, when one of our 50 states gets singled out by an international body of some consequence, you would hope it would be good news and something that the locals would brag about. But that’s not likely to be the case with Delaware’s recognition by Transparency International this month as one of the world’s best examples of...
Dear Madeleine Albright and Gloria Steinem: Feminism demands we reject America’s deadly imperialism
Two powerful backers of Hillary Clinton attracted headlines—and outrage—this weekend when they uttered sweeping statements under the banner of “feminism,” calling on young women to back the former Secretary of State’s presidential bid. Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of Sate, introduced Clinton in New...
“Intelligent people know that the empire is on the downhill”: A veteran CIA agent spills the goods on the Deep State and our foreign policy nightmares
I first heard Ray McGovern speak on a country road in the New England hills. This was courtesy of the admirably dedicated David Barsamian, who broadcast one of McGovern’s talks on Alternative Radio in late-2013. Reception up here being spotty, I pulled over and sat watching the autumn clouds drift by for the full hour McGovern stood at the...
This is an oligarchy, not a democracy: Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and the real reason why change never seems to come
“At the parliament of animals, the rabbits demanded equal rights, and the lions replied, ‘But where are your claws?’” We often hear it reported that in some benighted countries the people believe that “Democracy is a nice idea, but it’s not for us. We need a strong guiding hand.” So convinced of this are these people that, given the...
“Cruel bastards hang together: All you need to know”: The world according to the New York Times
The long-anticipated all-parties conference on Syria was scheduled to open in Geneva Monday, but of course it did not. Now it is set to start Friday, except that it may not. Staffan de Mistura, the perspicacious U.N. diplomat trying to make this very large event happen, is now holding proximity talks with those who may or may not attend, meaning...
