One of the most disturbing aspects of American foreign policy since 9/11 has been the assumption that decisions made by the United States are binding on the rest of the world, best exemplified by President George W. Bush’s warning that “there was a new sheriff in town.” Apart from time of war, no other nation has ever sought to prevent other nations from trading with each other, nor has any government sought to punish foreigners using sanctions with the cynical arrogance demonstrated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The United States uniquely seeks to penalize other sovereign countries for alleged crimes that did not occur in the U.S. and that did not involve American citizens, while also insisting that all nations must comply with whatever penalties are meted out by Washington.
The U.S. killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January "was unlawful and arbitrary under international law," a U.N. human rights investigator says, calling the drone strike in Baghdad a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. The investigator also says the U.S. has not produced any proof to back its claim that the attack was justified by the need to stop an imminent attack … Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, says U.N. investigators found nothing to justify the U.S. rationale … Callamard says the U.S. attack in Iraq violated Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which "prohibits the threat or use of force and calls on all Members to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other States."
In a new official strategy of confrontation against the People’s Republic of China, the Trump administration has announced its intention “to compel Beijing to cease or reduce actions harmful to the United States’ vital, national interests and those of our allies and partners.” … Despite Washington’s fervent objections to Russian election meddling in 2016, the U.S. has intervened in more than 80 democratic elections in other nations, including the 1986 presidential contest in Russia. … The Trump administration has caused economic damage to many countries, yet its wrecking‐ball sanctions have so far failed in every case: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela all have refused to give into U.S. demands … This bizarre strategy is doomed to fail. Despite Washington’s presumption that it speaks for the world, its allies often disagree.
... Add to these the operations of an organized propaganda capable, apparently, of doping Americans into belief in any myth, and there is formidable reason why public opinion should be so stupefied and stultified that the nation can be led from war to war in pursuit of ever retreating goals. Yet, despite the general numbness, Americans, surveying the results of half a century of intermeddling, dimly perceive that all is not well.
New efforts to rename the Agassizhorn peak in the Swiss Alps have suffered a setback after the authorities of three towns bordering the peak rejected a request by campaigners. On Thursday, the towns of Guttannen and Grindelwald in canton Bern and Fieschertal in canton Valais jointly decided against renaming the Agassizhorn peak. The local council of the Grindelwald mountain resort dismissed a call for renaming the 3,946 meter peak on Tuesday as “far-fetched”. “History can’t be wiped out just like that,” said Grindelwald mayor … He argues it is wiser to deal with both the positive and negative aspects of history, including the Swiss-American 19th scientist Louis Agassiz and his racist views.
As the Israeli government prepares to annex parts of the West Bank, Jewish establishment organizations are strategizing how best to shield Israel from political consequences … A leaked ADL [“Anti-Defamation League”] strategy memo obtained by Jewish Currents sheds light on how the nominal civil rights organization is preparing to address annexation’s critics … The ADL appears to recognize that annexation would violate Palestinians’ basic human rights, enforcing a codified regime of nationality-based discrimination subjugation — and that, as a group ostensibly concerned with civil rights, this is in tension with its stated values. Yet despite the seeming contradiction, the ADL has long devoted substantial time and energy to chilling criticism of Israeli policies and shielding the Israeli government from consequences.
Recent visitors have left mounds of rubbish at public spaces and beauty spots across the UK and beyond. What’s driving this behaviour? “We fear a littering epidemic as lockdown eases,” warns the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy … Littering has been reported to be more common among young people and people with a weaker attachment to their communities. For these people, feeling part of a small group is especially important, and one way to express that is through defiance of broader norms. And it’s especially awkward to hold onto an empty can for the recycling bin if mates have already thrown theirs to the ground. The pandemic may also be having a psychological effect. It’s natural that caring for the environment isn’t top of mind right now, says Palmer.
Last week, at least two separate BLM-related events descended into raw anti-Semitism and demonization of the Jewish collective, the state of Israel. At a BLM march in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2020, the crowd chanted things like: “Israel, we know you, you murder children, too”; and were treated to a poem about Israel’s purported crimes against Palestinian Arabs, a poem that referred to Israel as the “puppet master of continents,” bringing to mind age-old conspiracy theories about nefarious Jews controlling governments all over the world … That same day in Brooklyn, at a pro-BLM and anti-Israel demonstration, attendees were regaled with chants of “Death to Israel,” “Death to America” and “From Gaza to Minnesota, globalize the Intifada!”
… If one totaled up the earnings and spending of black Americans and considered us as a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, we would rank well within the top 20 richest nations. A black American, Gen. Colin Powell, once headed the world's mightiest military. Black Americans are among the world's most famous personalities, and a few black Americans are among the world's richest people … Plus, there was a black U.S. president. The significance of these achievements cannot be overstated … A major problem is that some public and private policies reward dependency and irresponsibility … Government should do its job of protecting constitutional rights. After that, black people should be simply left alone as opposed to being smothered by the paternalism inspired by white guilt.
One of the most disturbing aspects of American foreign policy since 9/11 has been the assumption that decisions made by the United States are binding on the rest of the world, best exemplified by President George W. Bush’s warning that “there was a new sheriff in town.” Apart from time of war, no other nation has ever sought to prevent other nations from trading with each other, nor has any government sought to punish foreigners using sanctions with the cynical arrogance demonstrated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The United States uniquely seeks to penalize other sovereign countries for alleged crimes that did not occur in the U.S. and that did not involve American citizens, while also insisting that all nations must comply with whatever penalties are meted out by Washington.
The U.S. killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January "was unlawful and arbitrary under international law," a U.N. human rights investigator says, calling the drone strike in Baghdad a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. The investigator also says the U.S. has not produced any proof to back its claim that the attack was justified by the need to stop an imminent attack … Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, says U.N. investigators found nothing to justify the U.S. rationale … Callamard says the U.S. attack in Iraq violated Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which "prohibits the threat or use of force and calls on all Members to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other States."
In a new official strategy of confrontation against the People’s Republic of China, the Trump administration has announced its intention “to compel Beijing to cease or reduce actions harmful to the United States’ vital, national interests and those of our allies and partners.” … Despite Washington’s fervent objections to Russian election meddling in 2016, the U.S. has intervened in more than 80 democratic elections in other nations, including the 1986 presidential contest in Russia. … The Trump administration has caused economic damage to many countries, yet its wrecking‐ball sanctions have so far failed in every case: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela all have refused to give into U.S. demands … This bizarre strategy is doomed to fail. Despite Washington’s presumption that it speaks for the world, its allies often disagree.
... Add to these the operations of an organized propaganda capable, apparently, of doping Americans into belief in any myth, and there is formidable reason why public opinion should be so stupefied and stultified that the nation can be led from war to war in pursuit of ever retreating goals. Yet, despite the general numbness, Americans, surveying the results of half a century of intermeddling, dimly perceive that all is not well.
New efforts to rename the Agassizhorn peak in the Swiss Alps have suffered a setback after the authorities of three towns bordering the peak rejected a request by campaigners. On Thursday, the towns of Guttannen and Grindelwald in canton Bern and Fieschertal in canton Valais jointly decided against renaming the Agassizhorn peak. The local council of the Grindelwald mountain resort dismissed a call for renaming the 3,946 meter peak on Tuesday as “far-fetched”. “History can’t be wiped out just like that,” said Grindelwald mayor … He argues it is wiser to deal with both the positive and negative aspects of history, including the Swiss-American 19th scientist Louis Agassiz and his racist views.
As the Israeli government prepares to annex parts of the West Bank, Jewish establishment organizations are strategizing how best to shield Israel from political consequences … A leaked ADL [“Anti-Defamation League”] strategy memo obtained by Jewish Currents sheds light on how the nominal civil rights organization is preparing to address annexation’s critics … The ADL appears to recognize that annexation would violate Palestinians’ basic human rights, enforcing a codified regime of nationality-based discrimination subjugation — and that, as a group ostensibly concerned with civil rights, this is in tension with its stated values. Yet despite the seeming contradiction, the ADL has long devoted substantial time and energy to chilling criticism of Israeli policies and shielding the Israeli government from consequences.
Recent visitors have left mounds of rubbish at public spaces and beauty spots across the UK and beyond. What’s driving this behaviour? “We fear a littering epidemic as lockdown eases,” warns the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy … Littering has been reported to be more common among young people and people with a weaker attachment to their communities. For these people, feeling part of a small group is especially important, and one way to express that is through defiance of broader norms. And it’s especially awkward to hold onto an empty can for the recycling bin if mates have already thrown theirs to the ground. The pandemic may also be having a psychological effect. It’s natural that caring for the environment isn’t top of mind right now, says Palmer.
Last week, at least two separate BLM-related events descended into raw anti-Semitism and demonization of the Jewish collective, the state of Israel. At a BLM march in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2020, the crowd chanted things like: “Israel, we know you, you murder children, too”; and were treated to a poem about Israel’s purported crimes against Palestinian Arabs, a poem that referred to Israel as the “puppet master of continents,” bringing to mind age-old conspiracy theories about nefarious Jews controlling governments all over the world … That same day in Brooklyn, at a pro-BLM and anti-Israel demonstration, attendees were regaled with chants of “Death to Israel,” “Death to America” and “From Gaza to Minnesota, globalize the Intifada!”
… If one totaled up the earnings and spending of black Americans and considered us as a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, we would rank well within the top 20 richest nations. A black American, Gen. Colin Powell, once headed the world's mightiest military. Black Americans are among the world's most famous personalities, and a few black Americans are among the world's richest people … Plus, there was a black U.S. president. The significance of these achievements cannot be overstated … A major problem is that some public and private policies reward dependency and irresponsibility … Government should do its job of protecting constitutional rights. After that, black people should be simply left alone as opposed to being smothered by the paternalism inspired by white guilt.