Empire Under Obama, Part 1: Political Language and the ‘Mafia Principles’ of International Relations by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally published on The Hampton Institute
October 7, 2013

Image by vaticanus via Flickr

In the first part of this essay series on ‘Empire Under Obama,’ I will aim to establish some fundamental premises of modern imperialism, or what is often referred to as ‘international relations,’ ‘geopolitics’, or ‘foreign policy.’ Specifically, I will refer to George Orwell’s writing on ‘political language’ in order to provide a context in which the discourse of imperialism may take place out in the open with very little comprehension on the part of the public which consumes the information; and further, to draw upon Noam Chomsky’s suggestion of understanding international relations as the application of ‘Mafia Principles’ to foreign policy. This part provides some background on these issues, and future parts to this essay series will be examining the manifestation of empire in recent years.

Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders Statement (#TPP)

Image by GlobalTradeWatch via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Propaganda Alert!

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 8, 2013

We, the Leaders of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam, are pleased to announce today that our countries are on track to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

The War on Terrorism … or whatever. by William Blum

by William Blum
Writer, Dandelion Salad
www.killinghope.org
October 8, 2013

“U.S. hopes of winning more influence over Syria’s divided rebel movement faded Wednesday after 11 of the biggest armed factions repudiated the Western-backed political opposition coalition and announced the formation of an alliance dedicated to creating an Islamist state. The al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is the lead signatory of the new group.” 1

Pity the poor American who wants to be a good citizen, wants to understand the world and his country’s role in it, wants to believe in the War on Terrorism, wants to believe that his government seeks to do good … What is he to make of all this?

Michael Parenti and Philip Giraldi on Capitalism and Empire

Image by Sterneck via Flickr

with Michael Parenti
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Michael Parenti Blog
www.michaelparenti.org
October 8, 2013

roseanneworld on Oct 6, 2013

Roseanne Barr and Kathleen Wells KCAA 10 6 13 Michael Parenti Philip Giraldi Part 1