Tag: democracy

Donald Rumsfeld States Bush Was ‘Unrealistic’ About Democracy In Iraq


Secular Talk

Former Secetary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in a recent interview with The Times of London that he disagreed with George W. Bush on one key aspect of the Iraq War.

During the Bush years, Rumsfeld had defended the administration and the decision to go into Iraq, but recently he said that he disagreed with Bush’s idea that it would be possible to bring democracy to the region.

“The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words,” Rumsfeld told the newspaper, reports Talking Points Memo.

It is unlikely that either Rumsfeld or former Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney will be prosecuted by the Obama administration for their roles in the Iraq war, states Thom Hartmann writing for truth-out.org.

“And now 40 years after Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, the precedent has been set that the standing president simply ignores the crimes of his predecessor,” he writes on truth-out.org.

(Updated article)

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-rumsfeld-iraq-democracy

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31294-why-we-shouldn-t-look-the-other-way-on-bush-s-iraq-war-crimes#

Democracy Now!: Possible NBC Cover Up In 2012 Kidnapping Of Richard Engel


Democracy Now!

What is the situation with NBC correspondent Richard Engel’s capture in 2012?

To summarize, Engel said just after his hostage ordeal that he was taken hostage by a Shi’ite militia affiliated with the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, as well as Iran and Hezbollah.

However, it recently emerged that he was taken hostage by Syrian rebels who are possibly associated with the Sunni Free Syrian Army that the U.S. supports.

So he was apparently taken hostage by our allies, not our enemies. The story could have created a shift in foreign policy and public opinion against the Shi’ites of Assad, Iran, and Hezbollah and for the Sunni rebels.

His captivity showed the Sunnis of the Free Syrian Army in a good light and the Shi’ite militias in a bad light, whereas the truth was the opposite.

(Updated article)

British Campaign Financing

Trews

Whom do British politicians get their campaign money from?  Russell Brand discusses British campaign financing with journalist & political activist George Monbiot about where British politicians get their money.

They also observe how enraged David Cameron becomes when challenged about it in parliament.

Attempted Bombing At NAACP Building In Colorado

According to the LA Times, a homemade explosive blew up on Tuesday outside the Colorado Springs, Colorado, chapter of the NAACP. The FBI has called it a deliberate incident.

The chapter’s offices, as well as Mr. G’s Hair Design Studios barber shop located inside the building, sustained minor damage from the explosion. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Witnesses reported hearing a “loud boom” around 10:45 a.m. local time. “There was smoke everywhere, the building on the side was burnt,” one onlooker told local television station KDVR. The Los Angeles Times reports an improvised bomb appears to have been positioned against the outside wall of the building on South El Paso Street.

According to the FBI, it was set right next to a gasoline can, which didn’t burst during the explosion.

More:

http://www.newsweek.com/naacp-chapter-bombing-colorado-springs-deliberate-says-fbi-297399

Vox: Obama Is Unpopular. He’s Also Accomplished An Incredible Amount.

According to Vox, since November 26, the Obama administration put forward new anti-smog regulations that should prevent thousands of premature deaths and heart attacks every year.   Also, Obama’s appointees at the Federal Reserve implemented new rules curbing reckless borrowing by giant banks that will reduce profits and shareholder earnings but increase the safety of the financial system.   He also normalized relations with Cuba after decades and created a plan to protect millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation.  Also, on Saturday, Democrats broke a congressional logjam and got many nominees confirmed.

Vox:  “It has been, in short, a very busy and extremely consequential lame-duck session. One whose significance is made all the more striking by the fact that it follows an electoral catastrophe for Obama’s party. And that is the Obama era in a microcosm.

“Democrats’ overwhelming electoral win in 2008 did not prove to be a ‘realigning’ election that handed the party enduring political dominance. Quite the opposite. But it did touch off a wave of domestic policymaking whose scale makes Obama a major historical figure in the way his two predecessors won’t be.”

Vox continues:  “It’s old hat at this point, but given the mixture of conservative rage and liberal disappointment that Obama generally inspires, it’s worth emphasizing that his first term offered legislation on a truly historic scale. The Affordable Care Act and related measures an expansion of the welfare state rivaled by only the New Deal and the Great Society.

“The tendency of today’s slow-as-molasses Congress to work via megabills means that consequential measures like new rules mandating calorie labeling at chain restaurants stand as mere provisions of Obamacare rather than counting as substantial measures on their own.”

Outrageous Discussion Of Torture On Russia Today

Russia Today gives its tenacious reporting on issues where the U.S. must play defense.

RT: “The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s extensive use of torture gives a new meaning to the term ‘shock and awe.’ Obama’s words ‘We tortured some folks’ is a gross understatement. Will anyone ever be punished for these crimes? CrossTalking with Fred Fleitz, Ray McGovern and Amy Goodman.”

RT (formerly named “Russia Today”) is a Russian state-funded cable and satellite television channel directed to audiences outside of the Russian Federation. The channel, which is headquartered in Moscow, presents round-the-clock news bulletins, documentaries, talk shows and debates, as well as sports news and cultural programs on Russia aimed at the overseas news market.

Video by Russia Today.