Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The Who Profit From Austerity! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico.
The Hypocrisy of France, Britain, and The United States: Missiles for supposed chemical warfare in Syria — Silence and/or support for the murder of unarmed Palestinian native demonstrators by Israeli Snipers in Palestine. — Roland Sheppard
Little Bush says…. we are at war on terror. It’s like having a war on dandruff, it’s endless and pointless. — Gore Vidal
Once Upon A Time Long Ago Truth Was Important: I wonder how many people, not just Americans but those in other countries, have come to the conclusion that the United States today is a less free and less aware society than the societies in the dystopian novels of the 20th century or in movies such as The Matrix and V for Vendetta. Just as people in the dystopian novels had no idea of their real situation, few Americans do either. What are we to make of the extraordinary war crimes committed by the United States in the 21st century that have destroyed in whole or part seven countries, resulting in millions of dead, maimed, orphaned, and displaced peoples? Consider, for example, the latest Washington war crime, the illegal attack on Syria. Instead of protesting this illegality, the American media egged it on, cheering impending death and destruction. — Paul Craig Roberts
Economic Update: Distorting Economic Truths Labor strikes at Disney; home sales and prices drop sharply; Nestle’s approval to profit from privatizing water; UPS and FedEx profit from Trump’s attack on Amazon and lies about the USPS; US poverty far worse than in other nations
Trump Isn’t the First War Criminal President. He Should be the Last.Only a couple of weeks ago, US president Donald Trump stated his desire to bring American troops home from Syria: “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon …. Let the other people take care of it now.” As if on cue: An alleged chemical attack in Douma, where the Assad regime’s forces are rooting out rebel resistance in their re-taking of the eastern Ghouta region. by Thomas Knapp
Did The Chemical Weapons Attacks in Syria Happen? We Need A Different QuestionThere has been a lot of debate other whether the chemical weapons attacks in Syria “really happened”. On the one side, you have the corporate media for the West, on the other side you have the corporate media for the Russians, as well as the conspiracy-oriented fringe in the U.S. Obviously one side is correct, and the truth does matter, but it really is the wrong question to be asking. By asking the question we draw the same “red line” as Barack Obama once did. The truth is that both Assad and his opposition have been absolutely brutal in their treatment of Syrians, and that the chemical weapons attack is just one of many crimes. Further military action in the area is the last thing Syria needs, and to that extent, we should not be provoked into further military action, regardless of whether the attack really happened by Nick Pemberton
War is Just F**kin’ WrongThere is no such thing as a good war, especially not in 2018. History, both recent and otherwise, has proven this statement. No war in the past seventy years has made the world a better place. In fact, in most cases those wars have made the world more dangerous. Furthermore, these wars—most of them waged by the United States and its clients—have wreaked environmental destruction, made life even more difficult for those who have little to begin with, and created an economy whose very existence not only demands but depends on the waging of and preparation for war and more war. In other words, a permanent war economy. by Ron JacobsPresident Trump’s War Crime is Worse than the One He Accuses Assad ofThe single most importantthing that happened Friday night when the US military on President Trump’s orders launched a wave of over 100 cruise missiles against Syria was that once again the US violated the most profound international law of war: initiating a war of aggression against a nation that posed no threat, imminent or otherwise, to the US or its allies. by Dave LindorffKill For Peace, Bomb For Justice, Behead For NookieWhenever you want to do something cruel, blame the necessity of it on God: Like the Allah-blamed wannabe caliphate of female sex slavery between Syria and Iraq, even between Arabia and Afghanistan; and the blue-eyed Christ-blamed same in Bible-thumping America. Right now there is a contest between superpowers, mini-superpowers, micro-superpowers, and proxy wannabe powers to see who can kill the most Muslim civilians from Yemen through Palestine, Syria through Afghanistan, and even out to Burma, but mostly in the Levant. by Manuel García, Jr.
Environment:
Congress Favors Corporate Welfare Over Our National Forests Senator Daines (R-MT) and Congressman Gianforte (R-MT) continued their attack on national forests recently when they repeated scientifically-discredited timber industry propaganda that logging our national forests is beneficial for the public’s forests, wildlife, and fisheries. What they don’t tell you is that some of the best elk hunting in America is in unlogged areas like the Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness. Or that the cleanest water and some of the best fishing – particularly for native species — is in streams that flow through unlogged national forests. by Mike Garrity
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Nuclear Keeps on Polluting, Long After ShutdownLast month, the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor, on the banks of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, was found to be leaking radioactive tritium (the radioactive form of hydrogen) into the groundwater.by John LaforgeOil Spill Laps Shores During Chevron-Sponsored French Quarter FestivalOn April 12, an oil spill in the Mississippi River brought noxious fumes to music lovers at the New Orleans French Quarter Festival. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates 4,200 gallons of diesel oil spilled when a cargo ship hit the Nashville Wharf. Traffic on the river was stopped while the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO) started to clean the spill. Clean up efforts continued this morning. The Coast Guard’s release said the spill was plugged a few hours after the Singapore-flagged “Pac Antares” hit the pier Thursday morning. I photographed the spill at the end of the day when thick oil was lapping up on rocks lining the river’s edge. The fumes were strong enough to give me a headache and a scratchy throat. By Julie DermanskyCivil Rights/ Black Liberation:
Meet the Wall Street Lawyer that Donald Trump Hired for the Cohen Raid CaseDonald Trump has been struggling for weeks to add fire power to his legal team. Then, somehow, last Wednesday, Trump was able to hire a woman considered by Wall Street to be a legal dynamo. The hire came just a few days after Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, saw his home, office, hotel room, safety deposit box and electronic devices raided by the FBI under the direction of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) – Wall Street’s official stomping ground. The case was referred to the SDNY by Special Counsel Robert Mueller according to court documents filed in the matter. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Labour releases advice casting doubt on legitimacy of Syria strikesAdvice by international law expert says government’s position on legality of missile strikes is ‘significantly flawed’ Labourhas released a five-page legal opinion that casts doubt on the government’s case for missile strikes against Syria, warning that the necessary standards to justify military action on humanitarian grounds had not been met. By Pippa Crerar
Catalonia: huge march in Barcelona to demand freedom for political prisonersHundreds-of-thousands took to the streets of Barcelona once again on Sunday 15 April to reject Spanish state repression. A key demand was freedom for Catalan political prisoners – the demonstrators marched under the slogan “Us Volem a Casa” (“We want you home”). This came at the end of a week in which the state attempted (and failed) to charge members of the Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDRs) with terrorism. The massive demonstration revealed the resilience of the movement, despite a leadership that is failing to show the way forward. By Jorge MartinHungarians Take to the Streets to Protest an Election Seen as a Hammer Blow to DemocracyTens of thousandsof Hungarians took to the streets of Budapest on Saturday to protest what they called a deeply undemocratic election last week, which delivered two-thirds of the seatsin Parliament to the ruling Fidesz party that won just 47 percent of the national popular vote. By Robert Mackey
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – APRIL 14: Protesters demonstrating against the right-wing government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hold a rally on April 14, 2018 in Budapest, Hungary. The event comes on the heels of Hungarian parliamentary elections in which Fidesz, Orban’s party, won nearly 49% of the vote on an election campaign that stoked fears of mass immigration. The protesters were responding to a Facebook call-up under the motto: ‘We Are The Majority!’ that is demanding a free press and independent public media, new laws to insure fair elections, a recount of the recent election votes and is appealing to the liberal opposition to unite. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Getty Images)
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel. 
Dozens of Protests to Stop U.S. War on Syria 
Quotes of the Day:
President Trump’s War Crime is Worse than the One He Accuses Assad ofThe single most importantthing that happened Friday night when the US military on President Trump’s orders launched a wave of over 100 cruise missiles against Syria was that once again the US violated the most profound international law of war: initiating a war of aggression against a nation that posed no threat, imminent or otherwise, to the US or its allies. by Dave Lindorff
Kill For Peace, Bomb For Justice, Behead For NookieWhenever you want to do something cruel, blame the necessity of it on God: Like the Allah-blamed wannabe caliphate of female sex slavery between Syria and Iraq, even between Arabia and Afghanistan; and the blue-eyed Christ-blamed same in Bible-thumping America. Right now there is a contest between superpowers, mini-superpowers, micro-superpowers, and proxy wannabe powers to see who can kill the most Muslim civilians from Yemen through Palestine, Syria through Afghanistan, and even out to Burma, but mostly in the Levant. by Manuel García, Jr.
Oil Spill Laps Shores During Chevron-Sponsored French Quarter FestivalOn April 12, an oil spill in the Mississippi River brought noxious fumes to music lovers at the New Orleans French Quarter Festival. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates 4,200 gallons of diesel oil spilled when a cargo ship hit the Nashville Wharf. Traffic on the river was stopped while the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO) started to clean the spill. Clean up efforts continued this morning. The Coast Guard’s release said the spill was plugged a few hours after the Singapore-flagged “Pac Antares” hit the pier Thursday morning. I photographed the spill at the end of the day when thick oil was lapping up on rocks lining the river’s edge. The fumes were strong enough to give me a headache and a scratchy throat. By Julie Dermansky
Civil Rights/ Black Liberation:
Meet the Wall Street Lawyer that Donald Trump Hired for the Cohen Raid CaseDonald Trump has been struggling for weeks to add fire power to his legal team. Then, somehow, last Wednesday, Trump was able to hire a woman considered by Wall Street to be a legal dynamo. The hire came just a few days after Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, saw his home, office, hotel room, safety deposit box and electronic devices raided by the FBI under the direction of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) – Wall Street’s official stomping ground. The case was referred to the SDNY by Special Counsel Robert Mueller according to court documents filed in the matter. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Hungarians Take to the Streets to Protest an Election Seen as a Hammer Blow to Democracy Tens of thousandsof Hungarians took to the streets of Budapest on Saturday to protest what they called a deeply undemocratic election last week, which delivered two-thirds of the seatsin Parliament to the ruling Fidesz party that won just 47 percent of the national popular vote. By Robert Mackey