Relying on Misinformation, U.S. Senate Calls on U.N. to Rescind Goldstone Report by Jeremy R. Hammond

by Jeremy R. Hammond
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Foreign Policy Journal
April 17, 2011

Image by ygurvitz via Flickr

The U.S. Senate on April 14 passed a resolution “calling on the United Nations to rescind the Goldstone report”, the popular name for the report of a U.N. fact-finding mission chaired by Richard Goldstone that was charged with investigating Israel’s full-scale military assault on the Gaza Strip in 2008-09, code-named “Operation Cast Lead”.

The report of the fact-finding mission concluded that there was evidence that both Israel and the Palestinian authority in Gaza, Hamas, committed war crimes during the course of the assault.

The Afghan Drug Trade and the Elephant in the Room by Jeremy R. Hammond

by Jeremy R. Hammond
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Foreign Policy Journal , April 9, 2011
April 17, 2011

Foreign Policy magazine this month features an article entitled “Think Again: The Afghan Drug Trade“, which is a decent overview of the opium problem – as far as it goes. Unsurprisingly, however, in doing so, it proverbially ignores the elephant in the room, and in doing so represents part of the problem rather than the solution.

To its credit, the article begins by dispelling the myth that the drug trade in Afghanistan is virtually controlled by the Taliban, observing that “In the popular and American political imaginations, the Taliban are thought to be the big winners from this [Afghanistan’s] near monopoly [on global opium production]“, but the truth is “The Taliban take 2 to 12 percent of a $4 billion industry”.

“The 15% Solution,” Serialization, 15th Installment: Chapter Fourteen: The Natural Resources Access Act of 2013

Cover via Amazon

Note: The Preface and Chapters One through Thirteen can be found here: The 15% Solution

by Jonathan Westminster, Ph.D. aka Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted on TPJmagazine.us
April 17, 2011

This is the fifteenth installment of a project that is likely to extend over a two-year-period from January, 2010.  It is the serialization of a book entitled The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism, 2001-2022.  Herein you will find Chapter 14.  This chapter presents the Address of President Jefferson Davis Hague on July 4, 2011.  In it, as long advocated by the Republican Religious Right, all protections for natural resources and the environment, mineral, animal, and vegetable, were abolished.   The groundwork for the “Resource Based Economy,” including the full exploitation of Canadian oil-shale and seemingly endless forests, was laid.  

Bahrain: Two men being assaulted by masked police, Photo essay by Finian Cunningham

These photos are from a Bahraini photographer whose name cannot be given for personal safety. The Bahraini regime is trawling through media interviews and broadcasts identifying people who have spoken out against the US-backed monarchy, and subsequently detaining these people in unknown conditions. Over 600 people have been unlawfully detained in Bahrain since the US-supported Saudi-led military crackdown was launched on March 16 against the pro-democracy movement. Up to 100 persons remain missing, according the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. At least four people have died in custody, their bodies showing signs of torture. Caption details by Finian Cunningham.

Francis Boyle: Obama is a gift to the ruling class, interviewed by Cindy Sheehan

by Cindy Sheehan
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
April 17, 2011

(SOAPBOX #95) – Cindy presents one hellaciously illuminating show, featuring popularly demanded Professor Francis Boyle, who refuses to buy the common brown, squishy and stinky “party line” proffered by our ruling class, or corporatocracy.  (See his Faculty profile here.)  He wants WORLD PEACE!  The man speaks good sense.  He PREFERS logic and truth – a very serious “character defect,” which can cost an adherent profoundly in terms of popular acceptability.  (Non-“official” viewpoints completely disqualify one from being a “serious” and relevant pundit.)  No; the real truth about this show is that Professor Boyle’s Integrity boils over.  He and Cindy discuss the Democratic Party’s immense skills at co-opting social movements that might be effective.  Both agree that today our Peace Movements are mostly front organizations for the Democratic party. 

From “Vulnerable” to Invincible: A program and action for economic health by Cindy Sheehan

by Cindy Sheehan
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
April 17, 2011

“There’s class warfare, all right but it’s my class the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” — Warren Buffett

Our problems stem from acceptance of this filthy, rotten system.” — Dorothy Day

Once upon a time, many years ago, when things weren’t quite so f’ed up here in Duh-merica, the Democratic candidate for president from Nowhereville, Arkansas made the expression, “It’s the economy, stupid,” a catch-phrase for his successful bid to unseat the incumbent, George H.W. Bush. Pappy Bush had been wildly popular (we love our “successful wars” here) after his attack on Iraq but had not addressed the recession we were suffering under at the time.