Why the U.S. Government Hates Venezuela By Shamus Cooke

By Shamus Cooke
August 04, 2009 “Information Clearing House”

The propaganda wheels are turning fast.  The barrage of anti-Venezuela misinformation that began while Bush was in office has intensified in recent months.  Not a week goes by without the U.S. mainstream media running at least one story about the “dictatorial” Venezuelan government.  Historically, the U.S. government’s foreign policy “coincidentally” matches the opinion of the media and vice versa.

A front page New York Times article on August 2, 2009 cited  “new evidence” that the Venezuelan government “still” supports the FARC — a peasant-based guerrilla group that has fought the Colombian government for decades.

This “new evidence” is a mere recycling of the last tactical attempt to link the Venezuelan government with the FARC:  computers were supposedly confiscated from FARC leaders that showed innumerable ties to Venezuelan government officials.  Of course anybody can write anything on a computer and say it came from somewhere else.  Evidence like this needs only a willing accomplice — the media — to legitimize it.

Obama’s Middle East Imperialism by Shamus Cooke

Dandelion Salad

by Shamus Cooke
Global Research, May 10, 2009

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The velvet gloves are off and the reality of Obama’s Middle East plans are being revealed: a bare-fisted pummeling of Afghanistan and Pakistan — with Iraq’s fate yet to be determined.

The media have been preparing this for months, with incessant talk about the alleged “troop drawdown” in Iraq, the “surge” in Afghanistan and the “immediate threat” that supposedly is represented by Pakistan.

The Big Lie of Recession Politics: ‘Shared Sacrifice’ by Shamus Cooke

Dandelion Salad

by Shamus Cooke
Global Research, March 3, 2009

It’s everywhere you look and in every speech you listen to. Every time a politician or businessmen talks about the recession, an almost in-synch, repetitive mantra can be heard: “Shared sacrifice, equality of sacrifice, hard choices.” Oh my.

There must be something to it, since EVERYBODY seems to be regurgitating the phrase in harmony. Even union bureaucrats have caught the shared sacrifice fever, using it to subdue their members in contract negotiations.

Obama himself has turned this once-extinct phrase into the linchpin of his economics policy: “We will, each and every one of us, have to compromise on certain things we care about but which we simply cannot afford right now.”

Obama has used this reasoning to reduce the wages of auto workers, while also talking about so-called “entitlement programs” like social security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

When asked about how this applied to the 28 new helicopters planned for the White House — costing $11.2 billion — Obama gave a heroic lead to the American people, saying that he “could do without them.”

Will Obama Start the Next Trade War? by Shamus Cooke

Dandelion Salad

by Shamus Cooke
Global Research, February 5, 2009

While campaigning to be president, Obama gave the general impression that he would act “cooperatively” to solve international problems, moving away from the Bush strategy of irresponsible “unilateralism.”

But Obama took an aggressive stance towards China even on the campaign trail, including the accusations of “currency manipulation,” “violating intellectual property rights,” and “devaluing their goods.” Of course the average American cares nothing about these types of  crimes, nor should they.

Some U.S. corporations, however, care very much about such things, as their profits are threatened by China’s rise. U.S. politicians looking for a good scapegoat also aim their fire at China, so they themselves can pretend to do something while continuing to do nothing of substance, aside from using US tax dollars to feed the money-hungry banks.

Obama is now following through with his promise to “aggressively confront China,” and the implications are profound.

It is no exaggeration to say that the U.S.-China economic relationship, which is central to the functioning of the larger world economy, is already in tatters. This precarious partnership was dysfunctional from the beginning: China was to build the world’s products and lend money to the U.S. so that these products would then be purchased.

Such an agreement can work in the short run but is based largely on colossal U.S. debt, the hyper-exploitation of Chinese workers, and the de-industrialization of the U.S. It was not meant to last, nor could it.

Bush worked madly to maintain good relations with the Chinese, brushing off demands of Republicans and Democrats alike to go on the attack.

The Danger of Right-Wing Populism By Shamus Cooke

Dandelion Salad

By Shamus Cooke
December 28, 2008 “Information Clearinghouse”

A strange trend is appearing in the political realm of the Left. Self-proclaimed political conservatives – many current or former members of the Republican Party – are being given considerable room in Left publications, for example in Counterpunch and BuzzFlash. At first it seemed accidental, with only sporadic occurrences. Now these “renegade” right-wingers enjoy ample room in spaces formally reserved for “lefties only.”

How is this to be explained?

If you ask a self-proclaimed progressive why he or she admires a particular conservative pundit, you’ll most likely receive a list of “progressive” positions:

Against the Iraq War
Against free-trade (especially NAFTA)
Against Globalization
Against the bank bailouts
Against the Federal Reserve
Against restrictions on civil liberties