The US Arrogance Stirs Me by Bruce Gagnon

by Bruce Gagnon
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Organizing Notes
February 27, 2014

I watched the mainstream national news last night at 6:30 pm. I did a lot of raging at the TV. One of the networks led off with the story about Russia holding war games inside their own country, near the Ukrainian border. The White House and Secretary of State John Kerry issued stern warnings to Russia about not trying to “interfere” with the current balkanization of the Ukraine. In Crimea, riots between pro-EU and pro-Russian citizens broke out. The Russian Navy has their Black Sea base in Crimea.

Zainab Alkhawaja: We’re living in a country where the criminals are the most powerful people

Dandelion Salad

democracynow on Feb 28, 2014

Image by Al Jazeera English via Flickr

democracynow – We go to Bahrain to speak with human rights activist Zainab Alkhawaja, just after she was released from prison by the Bahraini government. “One year in prison is nothing,” Alkhawaja says of her time behind bars. “Because it’s nothing compared to what we’re willing to sacrifice for our goals, for democracy in our country.”

Gareth Porter: US and Iran Send Positive Signals — Saudis and Israelis Not Pleased + Resolving Nuclear Arms Claims Hinges on Iran’s Demand for Documents

with Gareth Porter
Writer, Dandelion Salad
February 27, 2014

TheRealNews on Feb 27, 2014

Gareth Porter: Very contentious issues remain in Iran nuclear negotiations. 

Agriculture in a Changing World with Noam Chomsky et al.

Dandelion Salad

with Noam Chomsky

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

ontheearthproduction on Feb 27, 2014

“Agriculture is the oldest environmental problem,” the Land Institute’s Wes Jackson tells us early in this 27-minute video. Through interviews with 11 scientists, researchers and environmental experts, this short documentary considers that fate of agriculture and the environment in the age of agri-business and climate change.

Ukraine Shows Russia On Washington’s ‘To Do’ List For Regime Change by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from Strategic Culture Foundation
February 27, 2014

Days before Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from office he was told it was “game over” by America’s Vice President Joe Biden. According to the British Guardian newspaper, quoting anonymous US officials, Biden admonished the Ukrainian leader in an hour-long phone call that his efforts for finding a negotiated solution to the country’s political crisis was “a day late and a dollar short”. That’s hardly the friendly advice of a neutral bystander.

State of Europe: How the European Round Table of Industrialists Came to Wage Class War on Europe by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally posted at the Transnational Institute, 21 January 2014
February 26, 2014

In its third annual ‘State of Power’ report, TNI uses vibrant infographics and penetrating essays to expose and analyse the principal power-brokers that have caused financial, economic, social and ecological crises worldwide.

In my contribution to the ‘State of Power’ report (and in cooperation with Occupy.com), “State of Europe: How the European Round Table of Industrialists Came to Wage Class War on Europe,” I examine the role of a major corporate interest group in shaping the policies of the European Union.

Russia’s Economic Development to Offset Terrorist Fervor? by Jeffery Sommers and Michael Hudson

by Jeffery Sommers and Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
michael-hudson.com
February 25, 2014

Image by Paulo Filgueiras via United Nations Photo via Flickr

The Sochi Olympics were the great success Russia hoped for. The opening ceremonies proved a radiant display drawing on Russia’s most compelling cultural assets. This artful look back to Russia’s past greatness proved both a reminder and challenge to its own people to reprise their historical greatness going forward. Meanwhile, its closing ceremonies reprised these themes, reminding the viewer of Russia’s continued vibrancy in the arts.

Barack Obama’s Presidential Determination — Proposed Nuclear Agreement with Vietnam

Image by SS&SS via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Propaganda Alert!

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 24, 2014

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

SUBJECT: Proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

20 MERPs to Break the Two-Party Duopoly by Ralph Nader

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
February 24, 2014

The tightening two-party duopoly has been moving relentlessly in the direction of common funding of candidates by the same privileged interests. The exclusion of independent or third party competitors through costly ballot access hurdles (see: opendebates.org for more information), litigious harassment, and barring them from debates has been well-documented. Gerrymandering into one-party districts has eliminated political competition in many states. Furthermore, there is no “none of the above option” on the ballot to allow for a no-confidence vote. Voters are told either to cast a yes vote or stay home.

Global Power Project: The Group of Thirty, Financial Crisis Kingpins by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally published on Occupy.com, 18 December 2013
February 25, 2014

Following parts one, two and three of the Global Power Project’s Group of Thirty series, this fourth and final installment focuses on a few of the G30 members who have played outsized roles both in creating and managing various financial crises, providing a window on to the ideas, institutions and individuals who help steer this powerful global group.

The Assassin of Argentina

Prior to 2008, one of the most notable examples of a highly destructive financial crisis took place in Argentina which, heavily in debt, faced a large default and was brutally punished by financial markets and the speculative assault of global finance, otherwise known as “capital flight.”

How To Post a Comment on a WordPress.com Blog by Lo

by Lo
Editor, Dandelion Salad
February 25, 2014

It’s not too difficult, but it can be confusing to comment on WordPress.com’s blogs. Here is a screenshot from the comment box on my blog, Dandelion Salad.

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

New Mexico Admits Nuclear Plant Leaking Radiation and New Leak at Fukushima

Dandelion Salad

Image by klara.kristina via Flickr

RT America on Feb 24, 2014

Federal officials confirmed a local nuclear plant in southern New Mexico is leaking waste and releasing radiation into the surrounding area. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad was leaking for days before state officials were notified.

Rick Rozoff: Former Soviet Republics, Current Russian Allies Are U.S./NATO Color Revolution Targets

by Rick Rozoff
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
February 23, 2014

John Robles
Voice of Russia
February 23, 2014
Recorded on February 18, 2014

Part I

It is unprecedented that simultaneously three countries that are allies of Russia are being threatened by color revolutions: Venezuela, the Bosnian Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and Ukraine. These synthetic uprisings orchestrated by the US/NATO/EU would have been identified as the uprisings of fascistic guttersnipes 100 years ago, but in 2014 they are being portrayed as democracy or freedom movements, by the same people who are organizing them to destroy country after country.

Introduction to Intelligibility by Tristan A. Shaw

by Tristan A. Shaw
Writer, Dandelion Salad
British Columbia, Canada
February 24, 2014

Image by jabenaki via Flickr

We have all wondered adrift, consumed by our own moral complicity and jaded by the broader darkness of fear. Make no mistake: we are all among the Parmenidean “Deaf, Dumb, Blind, and Stupid – unreasoning cattle.”

To simply exist amongst this dark wave of history, predicted by ancient mystic cultures and sages past, is to be swept up, sometimes without recognition, in a frequency of hatred and corruption.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Offers Financial Bounty to Extrajudicial Killers by Felicity Arbuthnot

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
February 23, 2014

“A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” — Albert Camus, 1913-1960

On September 7th 2012, the US Department of State (“Diplomacy in Action”) assured on their website:

“The U.S. Mission in Iraq remains dedicated to building a strategic partnership with Iraq and the Iraqi people … Iraq continues to develop as a sovereign, stable … country … a voice of moderation and democracy in the Middle East.