When Apartheid South Africa faced boycotts in the 1980s, it often argued that some black African governments treated their black citizens worse. Now Israel is making the same case regarding its oppression of Palestinians, that Arabs are worse off in, say,…
Category: Media
US ‘Semi-Official’ News Agencies
After a brief flurry of aggressive journalism in the 1970s, the mainstream U.S. press has grown steadily more tame, transforming itself into what might be called the government’s “semi-official” news agencies another “secret” brought out by the case of Edward…
Selling the Fake IRS ‘Scandal’
Despite the Tea Party wallowing in its “victimhood,” the evidence now shows no “targeting” of right-wing groups. The IRS also used word searches for “progressive” and “occupy” to weed out political groups seeking tax-exempt status, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R.…
The IRS Non-Scandal ‘Scandal’
The IRS “scandal” stampeded Official Washington, including much of the mainstream press which portrayed the Tea Party as the “victim” of partisan abuse. But the dust has finally cleared and it appears there never was a “scandal,” just a clunky…
Bush’s Foiled NSA Blackmail Scheme
More than a decade ago, President George W. Bush enlisted the National Security Agency in a blackmail scheme to dig up dirt to coerce UN Security Council members to approve his aggressive war against Iraq. But the plot was foiled by…
Hard Lessons from the Afghan War
For years, the Afghan Taliban have said they would negotiate with the U.S. once it was clear the Americans were committed to leaving, making their sudden commitment to talk less “surprising.” But Official Washington could learn other important lessons from…
How to Thwart Internet Spying
Many are beginning to wonder if the Internet was America’s great “Trojan horse” gift to the world, a clever way to get past barriers and into everyone’s private information. The recent PRISM spying disclosures have especially riled Europeans. But there are…
The Need for National Security Leaks
The attack line against whistleblowers Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden that they should have gone through “proper channels” ignores that those oversight channels have been badly corrupted over the past several decades. That has left Americans dependent on out-of-channel leaks, says ex-CIA…
Exposing the Global Surveillance State
In lifting the curtain of secrecy only slightly, the Obama administration says U.S. surveillance of telephone and Internet communications has helped disrupt dozens of terror plots and is subjected to rigorous checks and balances. But the continued secrecy shows the need for whistleblowers, writes ex-British…
Explaining Iran’s ‘Surprise’ Election
Iran’s election of centrist Hassan Rowhani has confused the mainstream U.S. news media which was primed to reprise its favored narrative of “rigged” voting but now is going through contortions to explain the “surprise” result. Or one could read Flynt and…