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| If you have a problem reading this email, please click here to see the web page version You received this email because you signed up for it at OpEdNews. Unsubscribe instructions are at the bottom of this email. What a line-up today. I don't envy you, having to decide what to read. I started my morning with The Banality of Systemic Evil. It's made a a fan of the author, who I've invited to be a guest on my radio show. By George Gaasvig offers his first article to Opednews, Is Unfettered Capitalism a fair and equitable economic system for a democracy? I like the way he thinks. have a great one, rob kall Support Opednews. Make a tax deductible donation to make OEN Strong.  Daily HeadlinesTwelve long years of fruitless war in Afghanistan and another 10 in Iraq have left the public wary of the lies of politicians, sick of endless violence of empire and unwilling to continue to pump trillions of dollars into a war machine that has made a small cabal of defense contractors and arms manufacturers such as Raytheon and Halliburton huge profits while we are economically and politically hollowed out from the inside. The Occupy movement isn't dead. It lives on in the political will of the American people. They want a president and a party that will represent the 99 percent, not the 1 percent who write campaign checks and give them cushy post-government jobs. Summers' failure was their latest memo to our leaders in Washington, and here's what it said: If you won't fight for us, we'll find somebody who will. While it's a relief to have Larry Summers out of the running for the Fed chairmanship, it's also important not to labor under any delusions about Janet Yellen, the nominee presumptive. Larry Summers set a very low bar to beat. By George Gaasvig Is Unfettered Capitalism a fair and equitable economic system for a democracy? There is a need to replace the unfettered capitalism economy with social capitalism as an alternative that would fix the problems that are consistently present when capitalist systems are left to the mercy of greed. By allowing capitalists to profit from greed beyond need or reason, unrestricted capitalism cripples the economic system of democratic nations and jeopardizes the futures of countless readers. By Cyril Mychalejko Glenn Greenwald and the Failures of Mainstream Journalism The real danger facing the nation is the continuing sheepish and uncritical reporting by many mainstream "professional" journalists and journalism educators and their delusions of grandeur and self-righteousness. Journalism students across the country should learn from journalists like Glenn Greenwald-journalists who unapologetically and tirelessly challenge those in power and the status quo. A recent poll showed that 70% of people aged 18 to 34 thought Edward Snowden "did a good thing." Has the younger generation lost its moral compass? Israel and the House of Saud -- are extremely influential in Washington. And they know full well how American exceptionalism is obsessed with "credibility." So they won't stop inflating the"credibility" balloon. The question is whether, with his "credibility" in tatters after the "red line" fiasco, a zig-zagging Obama will muster the diplomatic courage to really start tearing down the Wall of Mistrust. By Kevin Gosztola FISA Court Releases Opinion to Show Americans Should Really Be Outraged at Phone Companies, Congress  A sublime precinct on the civil liberties left Both political parties have their own reasons for shutting down the government, so it should come as no surprise when the lights go off on Oct 1. The Democrats, however, are willing to stand their ground and might welcome a shutdown -- despite the negative consequences -- because they're banking on the fact that the public would place the blame where it belongs: on the Republicans. The anger directed at Putin's article has a lot less to do with Putin's own legacy as a leader, and much more to do with the frustration that new players in the Middle East are now successfully involved in a "game" that has for decades been dominated by if not reserved for Western powers and their allies. Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protestors staged a rally near the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of their movement. The protestors marched in the streets near Zuccotti Park Tuesday Morning and some others walked to Washington Square Park in the afternoon. "We're still out here fighting for economic justice. The bankers still have all the power," protester Linnea Paton said. "They've bought our government and we need a people's movement to do that, and the movement is still here." Edward Snowden is living under guard at a secret location in Russia, but is able to travel around the country freely without being recognized, according to the Russian lawyer of the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor. President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy, referred this month to Snowden as "a strange guy" and said life in Russia would not be easy for him. "In effect, he condemned himself to a rather difficult life," said Putin. "I do not have the faintest idea about what he will do next." This is the second part of the serialization of All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity (Berrett-Koehler, 2006). The ideas in this book are further developed in my recent novel The Rowan Tree. the Navy Yard massacre will not pry federal and state lawmakers out of the NRA's grip. Lawmakers barely blinked when one of their own, Congressman Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head by a conceal and carrying legal gun-owner who was mentally ill. Nor did the death of 20 first-graders on December 14, 2012 even inspire Congress to pass universal background checks in April. The top 10 percent of earners took more than half of the country's total income in 2012, the highest level recorded since the government began collecting the relevant data a century ago, according to an updated study by the prominent economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty. Ian has a big picture and a detailed understanding of how psychopaths have caused incredible damage, suffering and pain... and he has solutions. By Rev. Dan Vojir Ryan White Is Alive And Well And Living In Arkansas: What The Pea Ridge School Incident Tells Us About HIV Discriminatio  Pea Ridge, Arkansas has shown the world that Ryan White is still living - embodied in the school district's actions against three siblings of foster parents. The circumstances have been kept vague purposely and the district is bumbling toward clarity. By Nicola Nasser Tormenting the Souls of Religious Arabs: "Arab Spring' Degrades into Sectarian Counterrevolution  The "Arab Spring" was optimistically named after a season in nature during which life is reborn and was supposed to promise a renewal of the stagnant political, social and economic life in the Arab world, but unfortunately it turned instead into a sectarian season of killing, death and destruction by counterrevolution forces The threat of US aggression against Syria was never driven by concern over chemical weapons -- that was merely a pretext. Washington's real aim is regime change in Syria as a means of furthering US hegemony over the Middle East and preparing an even wider war against Iran, which it sees as its principal regional rival. By Paul Craig Roberts Pakistani National TV Reveals Obama's Claim To Have Killed Osama Bin Laden Is "An American Hoax"  The residents said that it was impossible that Osama bin Laden lived in their midst without their knowledge. The person who lives next door to the alleged "bin Laden compound" said that the resident shown in the American photo was not bin Laden, but his neighbor whom he knew well. The Pakistanis say the killing of bin Laden is an American hoax. By Eugene Elander The Relative Irrelevance of Barack Obama! Now that the high hopes for the Obama presidency have been dashed by Barack Obama himself, what remains is largely a legacy of irrelevance, and a study in how a president can make himself a premature lame duck. Here is hoping for 2016! By earl ofari hutchinson D.C. Shooter Would Not Have Gotten Much Help from the GOP There's little doubt that Washington D.C. Naval yard shooter Aaron Alexis had serious mental problems, and had them for some time. If Alexis had not been a veteran and received treatment at the VA, as reported, there's also little doubt that he might have been out of luck in seeking treatment. He could thank GOP congressional and state leaders for that. As for Summers' future, not to worry; after he left the Clinton administration and before signing up with the Obama White House, he admits to having added upward of $31 million to his wealth. Last week, with his Fed nomination still open, he had to pull back from one of his lucrative Citigroup speaking gigs, but now he is back in play. After yesterday's massacre at the Washington Navy Yard, there will no doubt be calls for greater gun controls which in turn, will be blunted by the NRA. At the same time, they support any and all measures to thwart acts of terror. Question is, when is a terrorist attack not a terrorist attack? The focus of the Syrian crisis has shifted to diplomatic moves for eliminating the government's chemical weapons stockpile, but the whodunit over the Aug. 21 gas attack outside Damascus remains to be solved after a UN report offered a murky account of what happened. As to the rampage yesterday @ the Washington Navy Yard where ex Navy man Aaron Alexis shot & killed some 13 people one thing is for sure, atrocities against innocents have proliferated in America. They're not yet commonplace but America is a violent culture & gives rise to the types of massacres we saw in D.C. yesterday. By Tom Engelhardt Tomgram: Engelhardt, How to Build a National Security Blowback Machine Dear Whistleblower, By Dennis Loo Syria: Jubiliation is Unwarranted Some in the anti-war movement have been celebrating "our" victory in "preventing a war." They are mistaking U.S. maneuvering prior to more escalation with peace moves. The war in Syria continues. Latest ArticlesI started out writing a comment but realized that any explanation that was aimed at communication rather than venting was going to be much too long for a comment. I am taking the questions at face value referring only to the original article's other text when necessary to provide context for the answers. You should definitely read that article before this one.  Best News Links from the WebTwo weeks away from a shutdown, there is no endgame in sight for Congress to continue funding the government and stop many federal services from grinding to a halt. The two parties aren't negotiating; they're sniping at each other. And the fissure between them appears wider than ever. Congress has five working days left to avert a shutdown unless it cancels the scheduled recess next week. In a video interview with Press TV, investigative journalist Pepe Escobar says Syria's enemies will not stop pushing for a war, warning that the CIA-trained militants have already entered into the country. Escobar said that the United States, France and Britain "want a Chapter 7 UN Security Council resolution which has the inbuilt possibility of launching a war against Syria in case of noncompliance, and they do not specify what kind of noncompliance would that be." An aide to House Speaker John Boehner denied a report by the conservative National Review magazine that Boehner had decided to allow a vote on a funding measure that avoids a October 1 government shutdown but defunds President Barack Obama's signature health insurance reform law. House Republicans were set to discuss their options for the funding deadline in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday morning in the Capitol. "No decisions have been made, or will be made, until House Republican members meet and talk tomorrow," said Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman. In a speech that was overshadowed by news from Syria and fatal shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, Obama said he would not negotiate over an extension of the US debt ceiling as part of an escalating budget battle in Congress. "I cannot remember a time when one faction of one party promises economic chaos if it doesn't get 100% of what it wants. That's never happened before. But that's what's happening now," said Obama. As Brazil fumes over allegations of US spying, with President Dilma Rousseff today officially canceling next month's state visit to Washington, the South American nation is simultaneously ratcheting up its own Big Brother surveillance program at home. Reports indicating the US also spied on Rousseff's communications led to the cancellation of her state visit to Washington next month, despite President Barack Obama speaking with her last night in an 11th hour call. On this blog, oneo f many, by local displaced teacher Rene Diedrich, the union's role in the total rout of veteran teachers is exposed. and AN EXCERPT FROM SCHOOLS MATTER ABOUT UNION CONTEMPT FOR TEACHERS BY JIM HORN ( His New Book MisMeasure of Education is MUST READ) If the teaching profession is to be saved for now and the future, teachers must take back their unions and reclaim the mission that made them a movement of solidarity among teachers, parents, and students. There is no other choice, and there is no greater calling. Government Explained - Short Video from Information Clearing House A good 10 minute summary of how government works. Truer things are said in jest... From Mossadeq to 9/11 - PaulCraigRoberts.org A friend of mine sent this link, don't know if it was published before on Oped. But it is well worth the read and spreading far and wide, imo. DG In the first round of what may become a long and protracted legal battle, US Distict Judge Charles Breyer dismissed Wells Fargo's lawsuit against the city of Richmond today, and the reason for dismissal was clear: nothing has happened yet... In legalese, the case is not "yet ripe for adjudication. "The shooter at the Washington Navy Yard had a "pattern of misconduct" as a Navy reservist, had sporadic run-ins with the law, and had contacted two Veterans Administration hospitals for apparent psychological issues, sources have told CNN." The owner of the company that employed Aaron Alexis, who police have identified as the Navy Yard shooter, said he would not have hired the Fort Worth computer technician if he had known about some of his brushes with the law and said the military should have shared more information with the company about Alexis' history. Thomas Hoshko, chief executive officer of The Experts, said he was disturbed to learn from the Washington Post and other news outlets about police reports alleging that Alexis shot out a construction worker's tire in Seattle in 2004, and into the ceiling of his Fort Worth apartment in 2010. "Did the Obama administration just get lucky with Vladimir Putin? Or did it cleverly offer him a chance to play his favorite role: the Most Interesting Man in the World?" "Investigators believe Aaron Alexis, a former Navy reservist, was the lone gunman in the shooting spree at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. earlier today in which 12 people were killed before the suspect was killed in a firefight with police, and authorities have lifted a shelter in place for the remaining residents in the area." |
