Charlie Hebdo went out of its way to offend. That isn’t my style or taste. The paper might have exhibited poor judgment. In fact, Charles Wilson of the University of Warwick denounced “free-speech fundamentalism.” However, there is no “but” to free expression, which goes to the very essence of the human person. While good judgment tells us not to express every thought we have, as moral agents responsible for our actions we must be free to assess the world and express ourselves in vibrant public debate.
The monstrous slaughter at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo brought millions of marchers and scores of world leaders onto the streets of Paris to support free expression. The killings demonstrate how the destructive phenomenon of religious persecution is spreading from Third World dictatorships to First World democracies. Religious minorities long have faced murder and prison around the world. Now the freedom not to believe by majorities in Western democracies is under attack.
Charlie Hebdo went out of its way to offend. That isn’t my style or taste. The paper might have exhibited poor judgment. In fact, Charles Wilson of the University of Warwick denounced “free-speech fundamentalism.” However, there is no “but” to free expression, which goes to the very essence of the human person. While good judgment tells us not to express every thought we have, as moral agents responsible for our actions we must be free to assess the world and express ourselves in vibrant public debate.
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The king has died. Long live the king. Saudi Arabia today is a medieval system whose horrid human rights practices match its antiquated political system. King Abdullah died Thursday; King Salman ascended the throne Friday. Official Washington breathed a sigh of relief at the swift and smooth transition. President Barack Obama visited Riyadh to pay his respects—or, some would say, demonstrated his obeisance.
On Sept. 9, NBCnews.com reported that “German TV shows Nazi symbols on helmets of Ukraine soldiers.” The German station showed pictures of a soldier wearing a combat helmet with the “SS runes” of Hitler’s infamous black-uniformed elite corps. (Runes are the letters of an alphabet used by ancient Germanic peoples.) A second soldier was shown with a swastika on his helmet.On Sept. 13, the Washington Post showed a photo of the sleeping quarter of a member of the Azov Battalion, one of the Ukrainian paramilitary units fighting the pro-Russian separatists. On the wall above the bed is a large swastika. Not to worry, the Post quoted the platoon leader stating that the soldiers embrace symbols and espouse extremist notions as part of some kind of “romantic” idea. Yet, it is Russian president Vladimir Putin who is compared to Adolf Hitler by everyone from Prince Charles to Princess Hillary because of the incorporation of Crimea as part of Russia. On this question Putin has stated: “The Crimean authorities have relied on the well-known Kosovo precedent, a precedent our Western partners created themselves, with their own hands, so to speak. In a situation absolutely similar to the Crimean one, they deemed Kosovo’s secession from Serbia to be legitimate, arguing everywhere that no permission from the country’s central authorities was required for the unilateral declaration of independence. “The UN’s international court, based on Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the UN Charter, agreed with that, and in its decision of 22 July 2010 noted the following, and I quote verbatim: ‘No general prohibition may be inferred from the practice of the Security Council with regard to unilateral declarations of independence.’”
Putin as Hitler is dwarfed by the stories of Putin as invader (Vlad the Impaler?). For months the Western media has been beating the drums about Russia having (actually) invaded Ukraine. I recommend reading: “How Can You Tell Whether Russia has Invaded Ukraine?” by Dmitry Orlov And keep in mind the NATO encirclement of Russia. Imagine Russia setting up military bases in Canada and Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Remember what a Soviet base in Cuba led to. https://consortiumnews.com/2014/09/16/hiding-ukraines-neo-nazi-reality/ William Blum is an author, historian, and renowned critic of U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II and Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower, among others. [This article originally appeared at the Anti-Empire Report, http://williamblum.org/ ] Perhaps the biggest taboo of the U.S. mainstream coverage of the Ukraine crisis is to block out the role played by neo-Nazi militias in both the Feb. 22 coup and this summer’s bloody offensive in eastern Ukraine, but the ugly reality occasionally breaks through, as William Blum noted in Anti-Empire Report. By William Blum Ever since serious protest broke out in Ukraine in February the Western mainstream media, particularly in the United States, has seriously downplayed the fact that the usual suspects – the US/European Union/NATO triumvirate – have been on the same side as the neo-Nazis. In the U.S. it’s been virtually unmentionable. I’m sure that a poll taken in the United States on this issue would reveal near universal ignorance of the numerous neo-Nazi actions, including publicly calling for death to “Russians, Communists and Jews.” But in the past week the dirty little secret has somehow poked its head out from behind the curtain a bit." Picture: Reuters. Russia has reportedly issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces - 'surrender or we attack'. More Russian armoured troops have been seen massing on the border of Crimea Monday as frantic diplomatic efforts continue. Here, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, center, accompanied by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, front left, walks to watch military exercises upon his arrival at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region.
See more pictures on the link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10670603/Ukraine-in-pictures-Threat-of-war-between-Ukraine-and-Russia.html Doug Bandow
Ukraine’s military has lost control of the Donetsk airport and the rebels have launched another offensive. Fortune could yet smile upon Kiev, but as long as Russia is determined not to let the separatists fail, Ukraine’s efforts likely will be for naught. Only a negotiated settlement, no matter how unsatisfying, offers the possibility of a stable resolution of the ongoing conflict. Indeed, the alternative may be the collapse of the Ukrainian state and long-term confrontation between the West and Russia, at great cost to all sides. Doug Bandow: U.S. Should Stay Out Of The Russo-Ukrainian Quarrel: Why The Conflict In Ukraine Isn't America's Business, Part I
Fighting over the Donetsk airport between Ukraine’s military and separatist forces backed by Russia has flared anew. The U.S. has begun providing heavier weapons as well as personnel training to Kiev. The conflict could go on for a long time, with Kiev and Moscow locked in a small hot war and the U.S. and Russia stuck in a larger Cold War lite. An extended confrontation would be in no one’s interest, especially America’s. The U.S. has made a habit of promiscuously meddling around the world. The results rarely have been pretty. Thousands of Americans have been killed, tens of thousands have been wounded, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have died, and a multitude of international furies have been loosed. Honest people,
Don't be taken for fools by those who have neither conscience nor brains in all those international committees, NGOs, parliaments, UNs, pro-democracy foundations and all the similar old junk across the world. Here is why. How the picture would look like if the real Russian Army was fighting in Ukraine. This is a text for the especially enlightened, those who insist that Russian army (RA) is fighting the war in Ukraine. Certain military installation names are not given their real names with a purpose. They are specific to the Russian Army exclusively and are not publicized. They are given under Latin letters. 01.01.2014, Kiev, Ukraine.The neo-Nazi march in Kiev. Do not forget to turn on the captions.
Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsuEoR... Additional video: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-... The protest in Kiev began 21.11.2013 when the President of Ukraine has stopped the process of association with EU. The main force of street protests was ultra-nationalistic organizations. Step by step these organizations absorbed the energy of protest, their actions became more and more aggressive, the weapon appeared in Maidan. Finally, the little street war began in Kiev. In video: The new-year march of the nationalistic "Svoboda" Party in Kiev. At the date of video the Maidan gains the strength and growths. After the video. In the February the self-defense of Maidan was about 12000 participants. After the crash of the legal power in Kiev at the night 21.02. - 22.02 the new "government" was formed. The several positions were taken by "Svoboda" Party. The people who are famous for their nationalistic (and Russophobian) speeches hold many positions. In 23.02 the law on regional languages was repealed (this law granted a little rights to the Russian, the Romanian and others languages). The nationalistic armed groups got, in fact, the status of official forces and now (07.03) they participate in the suppression of Russian riot in the Eastern Ukraine. Several groups turned into the crime bands frightening the civilians. My remark: It seems to me, we can watch the rebirth of Nazi state. In 1930-th it started from the similar marches for the nation and against (ethnic, political) "oppressors". Russians remember ethnic purges in 1940-th (it is strange why Poland - about 40,000 Polish victims - and Israel - the Jewish population of the Western Ukraine has been completely destroyed in WW2 - simulate the amnesia). Russians know who are enemies of "Svoboda" participants. It is one of causes of the powerful reaction of Russians in Ukraine (and in Russia) on the takeover in Kiev. Glossary: - Kiev - capital of Ukraine. - Euromaidan, Maidan - 1. the generalized name of events that led to destroy the legal power in Ukraine; 2. Maidan_of_Independence - the central square in Kiev. - "Svoboda" [Freedom] - the legal nationalistic party (10% on the last election, 2012). Yes, it is possible in Ukraine. - Tyahnybok - Oleg Tyahnybok, the leader of "Svoboda". - Bandera, Shukhevich - leaders of Ukrainian nationalists in WW2 that were allies of Nazi Germany. They are responsible for thousands of civilian victims: Polish, Jewish, Belorussians, Russians, Ukrainian. "Ukraine above all" - the analog of "Deutschland über alles", the Nazi slogan from WW2. The list already includes many prominent politicians, businessman, academics, scientists and artists from 20 countries, who have all publicly endorsed a resolution calling on the U.S. and Europe to collaborate with the “BRICS” nations in the interest of peace and economic development. The resolution, sponsored by the Schiller Institute, was issued in response to the offer of China's President Xi Jinping for the United States to join China's New Silk Road development program and abandon the policies of confrontation with particularly Russia and China.
Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the Air Force chief of staff, testified against defense budget cuts on Wednesday. CreditKevin Wolf/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose breaching statutory spending caps in the fiscal year that begins in October, putting out a budget Monday that raises spending at Congress’s discretion by $74 billion — or 7 percent, the White House announced Thursday. With the era of falling budget deficits coming to an end, Mr. Obama and Congress are hurtling toward a major fiscal clash over spending as the White House and Democrats press for an easing of fiscal spending austerity just as Republicans redouble efforts to balance the budget. |
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