Image by dignidadrebelde via Flickr
by Shepherd Bliss
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Santa Rosa, California
November 1, 2013
Colorful Aztec dancers lead a few hundred chanting, slow-moving people of all ages on a march from the Latino neighborhood of Roseland to Santa Rosa, California’s downtown square on October 30. They demanded justice for the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez on October 22 by sheriff’s deputy Erick Gelhaus.
by Shepherd Bliss
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Sonoma County, California
October 26, 2013
Image by Fibonacci Blue via Flickr
Another child has been killed. Andy Lopez was playing with a toy on Oct. 22 near his home in a Latino community in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Northern California. A sheriff’s deputy pulled the trigger and hit the 13-year-old seven times, fearing that his toy assault rifle might be real. His partner, sitting next to him in the car, held his fire. That patience was a better approach. Who is responsible for this death?
with Chris Hedges
Image by pameladrew212 via Flickr
TheLipTV on Oct 18, 2013
Chris Hedges speaks about suing the Obama administration for the NDAA, the conspiracy to use Al Qaeda to strip civil liberties and make a police state, the death of Osama Bin Laden, attack on journalists and more in this Buzzsaw interview hosted by Sean Stone. Hedges investigation of Osama Bin Laden, Mohamed Atta, the Iran-Contra Scandal and War on Terror all come into play in this discussion, leading to the realization that massive change is a necessity in America.
by Fred Branfman
Writer, Dandelion Salad
originally published on Alternet, September 25, 2013
September 29, 2013
Image by Isadora Ruyter-Harcourt via Flickr
“Knowledge (of) the scale of our capability would raise public awareness generating unwelcome publicity for us and our political masters.” — Classified UK NSA document
“To approve such a program, the Court must have every confidence that the government is doing its utmost to ensure that those responsible for implementation fully comply with the Court’s orders. The Court no longer has such confidence.” — U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Order, p. 12, 3-9-2009
by Graham Peebles
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London
September 19, 2013
Image by aheavens via Flickr
They speak of democracy, but act violently to suppress dissenting voices and control the people through the inculcation of fear: they ignore human rights and trample on the people, they are a tyrannical wolf in democratic sheep’s clothing, causing suffering and misery to thousands of people throughout Ethiopia. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government repeatedly scoffs at international law and consistently acts in violation of their own Federal constitution – a liberal document written by the regime to please and deceive their foreign supporters. Continue reading
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TheRevealingNews on Aug 23, 2013
August 22, 2013 Russia Today News
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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 16, 2013
You’ve heard people say they want to be spied on, as long as it means that other people will be spied on too. I know you’ve heard people say this, and which people it was, and how your face looked when you heard it, and what your next telephone call was. Or, rather, I could know all of that if I were one of the thousands and thousands of low-level snoops it will take for our government to accomplish its surveillance goals.
by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from PressTV
August 13, 2013
Image by UNARMED CIVILIAN via Flickr
The scene is being prepared in Bahrain for a bloodbath following a hate-filled speech this week by Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa in which he effectively declared war on the population, equating pro-democracy protesters with terrorists and foreign agents.
“This island will burn to a cinder all those who seek to tamper with its security and stability,” said the Khalifa premier. This corrupt ruler should be arrested for inciting mass murder, and yet the British and American government sponsors of the Bahraini regime say nothing of condemnation. Continue reading
by William Boardman
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published on readersupportednews.org, August 3, 2013
August 7, 2013
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
With much of the country aware of the extent of government spying on and lying to American citizens, there is now a limited public discussion of what kind of country we want ours to be. The limits of that discussion are illustrated by recent public utterances of two Democratic Senators, Diane Feinstein of California and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
David Seaman on Jul 31, 2013
David explains XKeyscore, the completely terrifying “new” NSA Internet spying program that was revealed to the public by additional Edward Snowden documents earlier today.
by John Pilger
johnpilger.com
25 July 2013
Image by Lorianne DiSabato via Flickr
I have known my postman for more than 20 years. Conscientious and good-humoured, he is the embodiment of public service at its best. The other day, I asked him, “Why are you standing in front of each door like a soldier on parade?”
“New system,” he replied, “I am no longer required simply to post the letters through the door. I have to approach every door in a certain way and put the letters through in a certain way.”
by Fred Branfman
Writer, Dandelion Salad
originally published on Alternet, July 16, 2013
July 21, 2013
Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr
Edward Snowden’s revelations have illuminated the most critical political issue facing America today: how an authoritarian U.S. Executive Branch which has focused on war abroad for the last 50 years now devotes increasing resources to surveillance, information management, and population control at home, posing a far greater threat to Americans’ liberties than any conceivable foreign foe.
by Fred Branfman
Writer, Dandelion Salad
originally published on Alternet, June 9, 2013
July 19, 2013
It’s evil, lawless and authoritarian. And as NSA leaker Snowden has shown us, its aims are to be all-powerful.
Many have expressed surprise that under President Obama – a former Constitutional Law Senior Lecturer who promised transparency, protection for whisteblowers and respect for international law when running for office – U.S. Executive Branch agencies have: Continue reading
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
Dandelion Salad
PressTVGlobalNews on Jul 1, 2013
Press TV’s documentary program “The Clouds of Death” depicts the excessive use of tear gas in Bahrain by the police, as a means to suppress the unrest, which has resulted in the death of innocent people and disabilities in some.
by Sibel Edmonds
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published by Boiling Frogs Post
June 9, 2013
Image by occupyreno_media via Flickr
As the unending back-to-back scandals unfold, from the arrest and prosecution of courageous truth-tellers (aka whistleblowers), to the illegal wiretapping of all Americans, torture, indefinite detentions, the groping and handling of travelers, utilizing the IRS as the government’s hit-men and thugs … I am asked to provide statements, interpretations and/ or explanations as to what it is we are facing as a nation today. Some seek my opinion on what it is we are fighting against; on whom it is we are fighting against. Continue reading
Dandelion Salad 