Iran
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MEDIA LENS: THE BBC’S JEREMY PAXMAN ON IRAQ – “WE WERE HOODWINKED”
Does not government submission of evidence mark the point where serious journalism +begins+ rather than ends? What is the reason for journalism at all, if the responsibility is simply to accept what a US Secretary of Defence says because we “know” he “is an intelligent, thoughtful man, and a sceptical man”? Continue reading
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MEDIA LENS ALERT: IRAN – THE WAR DANCE
The IAEA, which met in Vienna on September 18, adopted a resolution expressing concern about “Israeli nuclear capabilities” and called on agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to work on the issue. The motion was adopted by 49 votes to 45, with 16 abstentions. Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN security council, voted in… Continue reading
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Missile Defense: The Other Story
We are witnessing a flurry of emails and articles proclaiming victory after President Obama’s announcement that he was going to scrap George W. Bush’s plans to deploy missile defense interceptors in Poland and a Star Wars radar in the Czech Republic. But now that we’ve had a day to rejoice, the time has come for… Continue reading
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Media Lens: “An Existential Threat”: The US, Israel and Iran
The sanctions threat is to ensure that Iran does “not compromise on uranium enrichment by the end of next month.” The Guardian told its readers that not only are sanctions supposed to pre-empt any Israeli military action against Iran, “they are also a bargaining chip offered in part exchange for a substantial freeze on Jewish… Continue reading
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Global Research: Militarization and Western Power Selected Articles 31 July, 2009
Militarization and Western Power Selected Articles 31 July, 2009 Continue reading
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Iran: Which side are you on continued… By William Bowles
28 July 2009 Okay, the battle on the ‘left’ concerning who to support in Iran appears to come down to the following: On the one hand we appear to have those who say that the mass demonstrations are solely the result of the West’s attempts to undermine and overthrow the existing regime, utilizing a ‘colour… Continue reading
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Iran: Whose side are you on? By William Bowles
27 July 2009 I have been reading, with much despair and a deal of consternation, the torrent of ‘analysis’ coming out of ‘left’ field about which, if any, side to support in the ongoing struggles in Iran and, at the end of the day, a good deal more is revealed about the ‘left’ in the… Continue reading
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Iran: Riding the “Green Wave” at the Campaign for Peace and Democracy and Beyond by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson
There are many problems with the Campaign for Peace and Democracy’s “Question & Answer on the Iran Crisis,” issued by the CPD on July 7, and widely circulated since then. As we try to show below, when stripped of its didactic format, this Q&A amounts to little more than an emotional plea to its target… Continue reading
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Iran: Riding the "Green Wave" at the Campaign for Peace and Democracy and Beyond by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson
There are many problems with the Campaign for Peace and Democracy’s “Question & Answer on the Iran Crisis,” issued by the CPD on July 7, and widely circulated since then. As we try to show below, when stripped of its didactic format, this Q&A amounts to little more than an emotional plea to its target… Continue reading
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Media Lens 9 July, 2009: Hired Hands – Part 2: Reporting Elections In Iran And Iraq
The call for a “louder voice” of outrage from the West over the Iranian elections could hardly be more ironic. Consider the media response to the January 2005 elections in Iraq that took place under superpower military occupation in conditions of extreme violence. In Iraq the Iraqi interim government had forced the independent al-Jazeera TV… Continue reading
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Media Lens: Hired Hands – Part 1: Iran, Obama, Gaza, And MPs’ Expenses
Inevitably, then, corporations do not restrict themselves merely to the arena of economics. Rather, as John Dewey observed, “politics is the shadow cast on society by big business”. Over decades, corporations have worked together to ensure that the choices offered by ‘representative democracy’ all represent their greed for maximised profits. Continue reading
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William Blum: Anti-Empire Report, Number 71 'Much ado about nothing'
In his world-prominent speech to the Middle East on June 4, Obama mentioned that ‘In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government.’ So we have the president of the United States admitting to a previous overthrow of the Iranian government while… Continue reading
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Iran’s Coming Revolution: For Civil Rights Or Beyond?
Playing with revolution, however, is a lot like playing with fire — both can quickly get out of control. In the case of Iran this means that the abstract demand for democracy — coming from the Iranian opposition — can soon be overrun by more concrete, ‘radical’ demands. Continue reading
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Team Obama/Cult Obama By Bill Blum
I could go through the talk Obama gave in Cairo and point out line by line the hypocrisies, the mere platitudes, the plain nonsense, and the rest. (“I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States.” — No mention of it being outsourced, probably to the very country he was speaking in,… Continue reading
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William Blum: Anti-Empire Report, Number 70 The great, international, demonic, truly frightening Iranian threat
On May 12, in New York City, a debate was held on the proposition that ‘Diplomacy With Iran Is Going Nowhere’ (English translation: ‘Should we bomb Iran?’). Arguing in the affirmative, were Liz Cheney, former State Department official (and daughter of a certain unindicted war criminal) and Dan Senor, formerly the top spokesman for Washington’s… Continue reading
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William Blum: Anti-Empire Report, Number 69 – Some thoughts about torture. And Mr. Obama.
the new administration has not categorically banned the outsourcing of torture, such as renditions, the sole purpose of which is to kidnap people and send them to a country to be tortured. Moreover, what do we know of all the CIA secret prisons, the gulag extending from Poland to the island of Diego Garcia? How… Continue reading
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COHA: Bolivia’s Evo Morales’ European Tour 2009: Russia Flies the Flag Over Latin America and Everyone’s A Winner… Mostly
Washington continues to watch its influence drain in what increasingly must be viewed as its former ‘backyard’ Continue reading
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Media Lens: Selective Vision: Iran, Israel And Nuclear Arms
When a demonstrably mendacious leader claims he “passionately believed” in a lie, the media has to take him at his word. This is the same brand of journalistic gullibility that has had such tragic consequences for the people of Iraq. This is the endless, uncritical obedience to power that boosted the warmongering agenda of London… Continue reading
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New Cold War on Hold? Is Obama Ready to Drop Missile Defense? By F. William Engdahl
The placement of US missiles in Poland and advanced radar in the Czech Republic are vital parts of the US post-Cold War strategy of NATO encirclement of Russia and eventual decapitation of the nation as a functioning entity. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 