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En avril 2010 : Chris Hedges : Noam Chomsky Has ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/noam_chomsky_has_never_seen_anything_like_this_20100419/P700

“It is very similar to late Weimar Germany,” Chomsky told me when I called him at his office in Cambridge, Mass. “The parallels are striking. There was also tremendous disillusionment with the parliamentary system. The most striking fact about Weimar was not that the Nazis managed to destroy the Social Democrats and the Communists but that the traditional parties, the Conservative and Liberal parties, were hated and disappeared. It left a vacuum which the Nazis very cleverly and intelligently managed to take over.”

“The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen,” Chomsky went on. “Every charismatic figure is such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response. What are people supposed to think if someone says ‘I have got an answer, we have an enemy’? There it was the Jews. Here it will be the illegal immigrants and the blacks. We will be told that white males are a persecuted minority. We will be told we have to defend ourselves and the honor of the nation. Military force will be exalted. People will be beaten up. This could become an overwhelming force. And if it happens it will be more dangerous than Germany. The United States is the world power. Germany was powerful but had more powerful antagonists. I don’t think all this is very far away. If the polls are accurate it is not the Republicans but the right-wing Republicans, the crazed Republicans, who will sweep the next election.”

“I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime,” Chomsky added. “I am old enough to remember the 1930s. My whole family was unemployed. There were far more desperate conditions than today. But it was hopeful. People had hope. The CIO was organizing. No one wants to say it anymore but the Communist Party was the spearhead for labor and civil rights organizing. Even things like giving my unemployed seamstress aunt a week in the country. It was a life. There is nothing like that now. The mood of the country is frightening. The level of anger, frustration and hatred of institutions is not organized in a constructive way. It is going off into self-destructive fantasies.”

“I listen to talk radio,” Chomsky said. “I don’t want to hear Rush Limbaugh. I want to hear the people calling in. They are like [suicide pilot] Joe Stack. What is happening to me? I have done all the right things. I am a God-fearing Christian. I work hard for my family. I have a gun. I believe in the values of the country and my life is collapsing.”

À propos de ce que « socialisme » signifie ...

Chris Hedges : What It Means to Be a Socialist - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/what_it_means_to_be_a_socialist_20150920

We will, as Friedrich Engels wrote, make a transition to either socialism or barbarism. If we do not dismantle global capitalism we will descend into the Hobbesian chaos of failed states, mass migrations—which we are already witnessing—and endless war. Populations, especially in the global South, will endure misery and high mortality rates caused by collapsing ecosystems and infrastructures on a scale not seen since perhaps the black plague. There can be no accommodation with global capitalism. We will overthrow this system or be crushed by it. And at this moment of crisis we need to remind ourselves what being a socialist means and what it does not mean.

▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/who_turned_my_blue_state_red_20151122

#Voters participation
#Medicaid
#Safetynets

Vidéo : les Israéliens abattent une femme palestinienne immobile | Jonathan Cook | Traduction : Jean-Marie Flémal | Pour la Palestine
publié dans 9 octobre 2015

(...) Aujourd’hui, nous disposons d’une vidéo dérangeante montrant une exécution similaire mais, cette fois, pas dans les territoires occupés. Cela se passe en Israël même et la victime est une citoyenne israélienne – membre de la minorité palestinienne du pays, qui représente un cinquième de la population d’Israël.

Israa Abed, 30 ans, mère de trois enfants et originaire de Nazareth, a été abattue aujourd’hui à la gare centrale des bus d’Afula, près de Nazareth. Elle était entourée de nombreux soldats, de policiers et de ce qui s’est avéré être des civils israéliens armés. Les soldats sur place étaient probablement des passagers des nombreux bus qui passent par Afula.

Les médias israéliens ont rapporté pour commencer qu’elle avait été abattue alors qu’elle essayait de poignarder un garde de la sécurité. La vidéo (ci-dessous) montre que ce n’est absolument pas le cas. Elle a été abattue après être restée immobile à la gare des bus pendant de longs moments, apparemment terrifiée, dans ce qui ressemble à un état de panique absolue, puisque de plus en plus de gens pointaient leurs armes sur elle.

Vu la piètre qualité de la vidéo, il est pratiquement impossible de savoir si elle tient un couteau. Mais il est possible de voir qu’à l’instar de Hashlamon, elle ne représente de menace pour aucun des soldats au moment où elle est abattue. Ce point est souligné par le fait que plusieurs soldats et policiers s’approchent d’elle (donc ne s’éloignent pas d’elle) dans les tout derniers instants avant qu’elle ne soit abattue. Elle ne fait guère plus qu’osciller un peu, sur la vidéo, et on la voit se retourner lorsqu’un policier fonce directement sur elle à l’instant même où plusieurs détonations se font entendre sur la bande sonore.

Par chance, il s’avère qu’elle a survécu aux coups de feu et on rapporte qu’elle est dans un état stationnaire à l’hôpital.

Mais cette vidéo est troublante à divers titres.

Tout d’abord, et cela saute aux yeux, cette femme a été abattue alors qu’elle ne posait aucune menace immédiate. La personne ou les gens qui ont ouvert le feu l’ont fait sans aucune justification possible, hormis leurs propres craintes. On ne peut s’empêcher de se demander si la facilité avec laquelle les Juifs israéliens abattent des Palestiniens, qu’il s’agisse de leurs concitoyens en Israël ou des victimes de l’occupation, ne reflète pas les discours qui dominent depuis longtemps dans le système éducatif, les médias et la politique d’Israël et qui déshumanisent les « Arabes ».

Secundo, l’exécution semble avoir lieu, non pas parce que les gens qui l’entourent craignent de se trouver en danger, mais du fait que le groupe même se laisse gagner par une frénésie collective à propos du couteau supposé. Dans ce genre d’atmosphère, quelqu’un immanquablement va appuyer sur la gâchette tôt ou tard.

C’est très similaire à une autre vidéo récente, dans laquelle un groupe de Juifs religieux (et sans armes) poursuit Fadi Alloun dans une vaste zone découverte de Jérusalem en criant pour qu’on l’abatte. Lorsque les forces sécuritaires apparaissent, la vidéo montre la police qui ouvre le feu, obéissant apparemment aux ordres de la foule, et tue le jeune homme. Ici non plus, il s’avère qu’Alloun ne représente de menace pour personne au moment où il est abattu.

Tertio, les hommes politiques israéliens, y compris le maire de Jérusalem, Nir Barkat, ont adressé un appel aux civils juifs afin qu’ils portent sur eux leurs armes en permanence et qu’ils soient prêts à s’en servir. Cette vidéo montre à quoi cette politique est susceptible d’aboutir : une justice sommaire appliquée par le maillon le plus déséquilibré de la chaîne sécuritaire.

Quarto, c’est une tendance profondément embarrassante en Israël même que des civils juifs se mettent à copier les colons des territoires occupés en croyant qu’ils devraient eux-mêmes se livrer à des attaques vengeresses. Aujourd’hui, un Juif de Dimona a poignardé quatre Palestiniens, dont deux citoyens israéliens. La vidéo est une illustration vivante de l’ambiance de victimisation qui déferle sur Israël, une ambiance qui fait que les Israéliens deviennent très rapides pour dégainer et qu’ils se sentent prêts à assumer le rôle d’anges vengeurs.

Il est assez déplorable que les Palestiniens en Israël doivent faire face à des forces de sécurité qui les traitent comme des ennemis. Mais les choses empireront encore bien davantage si même le pouvoir de la loi, déjà hautement préjudiciable, se fait remplacer par la foule des lyncheurs.

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=45&v=hk9tWbcGGCc

Murder, Mayhem and Rape in #Afghanistan: Made in the U.S.A.
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/murder_mayhem_and_rape_in_afghanistan_made_in_the_usa_20150924

So rampant is the phenomenon of child rape by Afghan military commanders that it has a name: bacha bazi, which translates into “boy-play.” In some cases, rapes have taken place on U.S. military bases under the noses of American soldiers. But U.S. troops were told to look the other way because Washington considers the rapists’ help in fighting the Taliban central to its military strategy. Consequently, according to the Times, “instead of weeding out pedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of village—and doing little when they began abusing children.” The hypocrisy of arming human rights violators against the purportedly violent Taliban did not escape the notice of some U.S. troops who attempted to speak out but encountered retaliation.

#viol #enfants #pédophilie #Etats-Unis “#nos_valeurs”

U.S. boosts support role in Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen - LA Times
▻http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-us-yemen-20150817-story.html

“We are confident that the intelligence and advice we pass on to Saudi Arabia and other coalition members is sound, giving them the best options for military success consistent with international norms and mitigating the potential for civilian casualties,” said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a U.S. military spokesman in Bahrain. “The final decisions on the conduct of operations in the campaign are made by the members of the Saudi-led coalition, not the United States.”

The coalition maintains that it primarily uses satellite- and laser-guided munitions, but Human Rights Watch says unguided bombs and U.S.-supplied cluster munitions have been dropped in densely populated urban areas.

Megan Murphy : La guerre de l’industrie du sexe contre les féministes | Le blog de Christine Delphy
▻https://delphysyllepse.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/la-guerre-de-lindustrie-du-sexe-contre-les-feministes

Les pornographes ont toujours défendu les productions et les pratiques de leur industrie extrêmement rentable comme de la « liberté d’expression », même si celles-ci sexualisaient le pouvoir masculin et la violence contre les femmes. De même, les défenseurs de la prostitution, qu’ils qualifient stratégiquement de « travail du sexe », présentent comme libérateur le mouvement visant à la faire légaliser et normaliser.

Mais ces groupes n’appuient la libre parole et la liberté que dans la mesure où elles servent leurs intérêts. Les personnes qui s’expriment contre l’industrie du sexe sont exclues de leur version de la « liberté ».

Adam Johnson : Slate a publié 5 articles traînant Hersh dans la boue en moins de 36 heures
▻https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonnyc/status/598305621398683648

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CE2bysAW0AAEGmR.png

Wow. Slate managed to publish FIVE Hersh smear pieces is less than 36 hrs. It’s almost as if they have - an agenda!

Lawrence Weschler: Israel Has Been Bitten by a Bat - Truthdig
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/israel_has_been_bitten_by_a_bat_20140718

“I need to shit on that lawn. It’s the only way to keep my body in shape, you fools. I’ve been bitten by a bat!”

Si vous ne l’avez pas encore lu, lire absolument : comment, derrière la spectaculaire démission en direct d’une journaliste de Russia Today, Blumenthal et Khalek ont relevé les traces d’une manipulation néoconservatrice.
How Cold War-Hungry Neocons Stage Managed RT Anchor Liz Wahl’s Resignation - Max Blumenthal & Rania Khalek
►http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/how_cold_war-hungry_neocons_stage_managed_liz_wahls_resignation_20140319

Behind the coverage of Wahl’s dramatic protest, a cadre of neoconservatives was celebrating a public relations coup. Desperate to revive the Cold War, head off further cuts to the defense budget and restore the legitimacy they lost in the ruins of Iraq, the tightknit group of neoconservative writers and stewards had opened up a new PR front through Wahl’s resignation. And they succeeded with no shortage of help from an ossified media establishment struggling to maintain credibility in an increasingly anarchic online news environment. With isolated skeptics branded as useful idiots for Putin, the scene has been kept clean of neoconservative fingerprints, obscuring their interest in Wahl’s resignation and the broader push to deepen tensions with Russia.

Chris Hedges: Israel’s War on American Universities - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/israels_war_on_american_universities_20140316

Some activists at Florida Atlantic University were stripped of student leadership positions after walking out of a talk by an Israeli army officer, and they were ordered by school administrators to attend re-education seminars designed by the Anti-Defamation League.

#Palestine #bds

Is the Surveillance State Constitutional ?
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/is_the_surveillance_state_constitutional_20130611

Si j’ai bien compris, il faut d’abord attaquer les lois pour leur inconstitutionnalité avant d’attaquer les applications, légales par définition, qui en découlent.

Surely, you might think, such all-encompassing surveillance must be unconstitutional, and ultimately will be stopped or modified by the Supreme Court.

Think again. President Obama, among many others, has assured us that the government’s spying operations are entirely legal.

The problem is not that the president has taken leave of his senses, or suddenly taken the rest of us for fools. The problem is that he may well be correct, at least according to the way the Supreme Court has thus far interpreted the Constitution.

The President of Senegal Thinks Local - Truthdig
▻http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_president_of_senegal_thinks_local_20130402

Sall’s pledge to protect local economies from the international free market is an important and rare act of resistance to the doctrine of globalization. Since the crumbling of the Soviet Union, especially, developing countries have opened up their markets to rich Western nations that promise that unfettered capitalism will strengthen local economies. Often, the opposite happens.

GDP may go up, but it’s not because economies are healthier. Figures might climb because Western countries put a price tag on an economy that has traditionally been informal. Where fish, for example, had been caught and eaten locally, without figuring into the GDP, they are now amassed by foreign trawlers who pay for licenses, making Senegal a richer nation from a Western perspective, but a poorer one in real terms.

Senegal, which started to free up its fishing market 10 years ago, saw many of its fishing communities revolt in 2012 as large foreign trawlers began decimating the stock.

“Big fishing companies create an inequitable competition with local communities,” said Ahmed Diame from the Greenpeace office in Senegal’s capital city of Dakar. “Local communities don’t benefit from the presence of these vessels which fish, process and send out all their catches [themselves].”

Sall, who promised to rescind foreign licenses in his platform when he ran for office, followed through on April 30, 2012, as fishermen were ready to act on their own.

“You can be sure that I was approached by many [international] fishing companies,” Sall said at an event for the marine conservation group Blue Frontier Campaign in Washington, D.C., last week, “but I was also aware of the cries of fishermen who were running out of fish.

“Forget about the $12 million in profits,” he said about corporate guarantees. “Focus on what the people need.”

Sall said that poor countries should band together to fight globalization. He wants to see neighboring nations in Africa, especially those on the coast that have suffered the same losses as Senegal, protect their natural resources and worry more about their local economies than shallow GDP levels.

Some are following the direction Senegal has taken. Palau has refused to allow Taiwan to send fishing vessels into its waters. And groups such as Greenpeace are fighting on behalf of islands in the western Pacific Ocean to bar foreign trawlers from overfishing yellowfin tuna.

Sooner or later, Sall said, countries will have “to take a break from draining natural resources. ... Fishermen are not the experts in protecting the oceans.” The responsibility lies with those who can understand the process, he said, those often bought off by corporations.