Category: Human Rights

In Venezuela, Who’s Threatening Whom?

In Official Washington, the land of scary make-believe, there is much snorting disbelief about Venezuela’s claim that the U.S. is encouraging a coup and much grave concern that Venezuela represents an “extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, as President Obama…

LBJ’s ‘X’ File on Nixon’s ‘Treason’

From the Archive: The letter to Iran from 47 Republicans senators, seeking to kill President Obama’s talks on limiting Iran’s nuclear program, recalls other GOP sabotage of foreign policy by Democratic presidents, including Richard Nixon’s scheme to stop a Vietnam peace deal…

How ‘Free Markets’ Defame ‘Democracy’

Exclusive: Venezuela seems to be following Ukraine on the neocon hit list for “regime change” as Washington punishes Caracas for acting against a perceived coup threat. But a broader problem is how the U.S. conflates “free markets” with “democracy,” giving “democracy” a…

Nuland’s Mastery of Ukraine Propaganda

Exclusive: In House testimony, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland blamed Russia and ethnic-Russian rebels for last summer’s shoot-down of MH-17 over Ukraine, but the U.S. government has not substantiated that charge. So, did Nuland mislead Congress or just play a propaganda…

Treading a Delicate Line on Israel

A sensitive point in criticizing Israel over its persecution of the Palestinians is the need to separate the actions of that government from the Jewish people, many of whom also object to those repressive policies. One bungled case at UCLA raised accusations…

The Secret Saudi Ties to Terrorism

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia, working mostly through Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, is trying to enlist the U.S. on the Sunni side of a regional war against Iran and the Shiites. But that alliance is complicated by Saudi princes who support al-Qaeda and…

ACLU’s Strange Fight for ‘Redskin’ Trademark

The Washington Redskins football team makes millions of dollars on merchandise under the U.S. government’s trademark of the name, a revenue flow now threatened by a decision to revoke the protection on grounds of racism, an action that the ACLU…

Equal Justice for Petraeus and Snowden?

The Justice Department’s decision to let ex-CIA Director Petraeus off with a hand slap for giving his mistress highly sensitive secrets raises questions about the harsh punishments meted out to lower-level leakers/truth-tellers — and the threat of a long prison…

Gen. Petraeus: Too Big to Jail

Exclusive: While lesser Americans face years in jail for leaking secrets  even to inform fellow citizens of government abuses retired Gen. David Petraeus gets a misdemeanor wrist-slap for exposing covert officers and lying about it, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern, who was jailed just for…

A Delusional Netanyahu Sways Congress

When not applauding wildly, the U.S. Congress sat listening to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu like children being told scary stories around a campfire, hearing how the big bad Iranians were “gobbling up” countries across the Middle East, pretty much a…