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Showing posts from July, 2015

China's NGO Law: Countering Western Soft Power and Subversion by Eric Draitser

China’s NGO Law: Countering Western Soft Power and Subversion (Originally appearing in New Eastern Outlook NEO)   China has recently taken an important step in more tightly regulating foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) inside the country. Despite condemnation from so called human rights groups in the West, China’s move should be understood as a critical decision to assert sovereignty over its own political space. Naturally, the shrill cries of “repression” and “hostility toward civil society” from western NGOs have done little to shake the resolve of Beijing as the government has recognized the critical importance of cutting off all avenues for political and social destabilization. The predictable argument, once again being made against China’s Overseas NGO Management Law , is that it is a restriction on freedom of association and expression, and a means of stifling the burgeoning civil society sector in China.

NEW COLD WAR GETTING WARMER (SOAPBOX PODCAST 7/26/15)

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CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX JULY 25, 2015 GUEST: BRUCE GAGNON TOPIC: US/NATO AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE BRUCE Today, Cindy chats with Bruce Gagnon (founder of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and lifelong activist) about the little talked about/reported upon (not including The Soapbox) subject of the USA backing neo-Nazis in Ukraine against Russia. As Bruce points out, if one is against US/NATO expansion in the region based on principles of peace and justice, we are being "Putinized" as Putin is being "demonized." It is possible to be against ALL of the US's military crimes against peace without being major supporters of leaders the US says we all must hate and fear. Bruce is intelligent, very informed, and articulate for a highly interesting Soapbox. Please listen and share this link far and wide. RELEVANT LINKS FROM BRUCE'S BLOG   Kiev's Nazis Shell Hospital in Donetsk Na

Hiroshima: 70 Years of Lies and Propaganda by Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust July 24, 2015 “It is an atomic bomb. It is the greatest thing in history.” - President Harry S. Truman (August 6, 1945) One of the seemingly endless Good ( sic ) War myths goes a little something like this: The U.S. had no choice but to drop atomic bombs on Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Had they not done so, the fanatical Japanese never would have surrendered and millions of brave American soldiers would have perished in the ensuing invasion of the Japanese islands. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, I’ll try (yet again) to answer the question: Why was the bomb used? The enemy was never fascism   Before confronting the unleashing of the bomb, there is lesser-known myth that must be dealt with: the life-and-death race with German scientists. “Working at Los Alamos, New Mexico,” writes historian Kenneth C. Davis, “atomic scientists, many of them refugees from Hitler’s Europe, thou

Whoops! by Anthony Freda

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It's a J. Edgar World by Anthony Freda (iRants)

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It's not that power corrupts, it is that power attracts the corruptible. The J. Edgar Hoover model of surveillance, intimidation, blackmail, character assassination, actual assassination And using corrupt media to spread disinformation is still very much alive in the 21st century.   Technological and psychological advances have turned his most demented, dystopian wet dreams into reality.   We are All in his files now. He was also trans before it was cool and possibly a self-hating black man. What a great American trailblazer! http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/therootdc/post/was-j- edgar-hoover-black/2011/11/20/ gIQAZcu3kN_blog.html

Speaking Truth to Empire with Dan Yaseen

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July 20, 2015 On “Speaking Truth to Empire” Dan Yaseen interviews Jeff Brown, an author and blogger who currently lives in China. Jeff grew up in Oklahoma and has also lived in Brazil, Middle East, Africa and France. In 2012, he took a solo trip through China for 44 days and wrote a book, 44Days: Backpacking in China.  His website is http://44days.net   CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Birthing a New Labor Movement (Soapbox PODCAST 7/19/15)

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CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX JULY 19, 2015 TOPIC: Org Labor MUST MAKE a Clean Break from the DNC GUEST: LABOR ACTIVIST AND RADIO HOST, STEVE ZELTZER STEVE LABOR VIDEO PROJECT   WORK WEEK    

The Soapbox Calls for the Internment of "Radical" Politicians and War Profiteers and Generals

They Hate our Freedumb by Anthony Freda (iRants)

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16 July   Isn't the purpose of journalism to provide alternatives to official propaganda?   What is the point of having a free press if it serves the needs of those in power who already have a global pulpit?   The establishment narrative (especially regarding foreign policy) should never be taken at face value, always questioned and investigated.   The controlled press, our military leadership and our intelligence agencies have earned our skepticism by way of their history of mis-informing the public and their instinct for deception. Some heretical views to consider: http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-truly-monumental-event-by-anthony.html http://www.theonion.com/article/iran-worried-us-might-be-building-8500th-nuclear-w-27325 https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/15/irans-refusal-allow-notice-inspections-legit-u-s-history-iraq/ http://www.activistpost.com/2015/07/warning-nuclear-deal-with-iran-prelude.html http://www.csmonitor.com

Every. Four. Years. (But What About Bernie?) | Mickey Z.

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July 19, 2015 Every four years, relatively rational comrades willingly surrender their ability to think critically. Every four years, I promise myself I won’t write about it. Every four years, I break that promise. Every four years, I remind people about the primary difference between Republicans and Democrats: they tell different lies to get elected. Every four years, I lose more friends. Here. We. Go. Again.  Liberal countdown begins: 3... 2... 1... but what about Bernie?!? For decades, I’ve made all the reasoned, well-documented arguments to explain the two-party lie to allegedly open-minded readers (check your trusty search engine to find the tens of thousands of words I’ve already shared in vain).  This time around, however, I won’t waste my time. This time around, I’ll skip the stats, the evidence, the history, the proof .  This time around, I’ll just keep naming the problem. Name the Problem   The

Yoga's Pose: White Supremacy by Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust July 15, 2015 One of the greatest victories of white supremacy is conditioning white people to think it only refers to slavery, segregation, skinheads, and the KKK.  One of the most important steps towards becoming a more aware and effective ally is recognizing how white supremacy (like male supremacy) is everywhere , maliciously interwoven into every aspect of our daily lives. Even those trendy yoga classes. Of course, with its elitist pricing and resident rapists , yoga does not lack for capitalist and patriarchal elements, but this specific article began when I happened across a white male face smiling at me from the cover of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health catalog. Three pages in, Kripalu CEO, David Lipsius writes: “One of our core beliefs is that personal growth and development is a never a one-size-fits-all endeavor” and “Kripalu celebrates these differences and welcomes all seekers in a way that meets each ind

The "Left" Has Left the Building (Soapbox Podcast Week of July 12)

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Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox July 15, 2015 Soapbox Podcast GUEST: RAY LIGHT (GENERAL SECRETARY OF REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION OF LABOR, USA) TOPIC: ABDICATION OF THE "LEFT" AND USA/NATO HOSTILITY IN UKRAINE TOWARDS RUSSIA   (special thanks to our friend Jon Gold for putting the show together this week).    ************************************************* Dear Friends, What passes for the so-called left in the USA is mostly a pitiful lot of unprincipled party hacks leading a flock of willing sheep. At this point, I think the only difference between Obama and a Republican (remember, Obama admires Reagan), is that if there were a Republican president for the last 6 1/2 years, there would be more support for antiwar and pro-justice movements. As it is, Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox has struggled along--we have not only been "on the air" but "in the streets" never forgetting our principles or the struggle.

A Truly Monumental Event by Anthony Freda

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  A Truly Monumental Event "Monumental" is the word that has been chosen for us to define the Iran nuclear deal that ostensibly protects the West from yet another non-existing, existential threat. The word is everywhere in the mainstream media, and people are dutifully parroting the adjective as if it were an original thought. To me, a truly 'monumental' event would be a presidential speech outlining how the idea of Iran as a military threat to the US or Israel is an absurd, discredited notion promoted by the Saudis, Israeli hawks and the NeoConservatives via western media propaganda channels to portray the country as an agent of evil.   Iran has no intention of starting a suicidal nuclear war. They pose exactly the same existential threat to the US as Vietnam or Iraq did. Zero.   Fabricated evidence, false intelligence and fear mongering brought us to war with those countries. The same sort of

FLUSH THE TPP WITH GUEST KEVIN ZEESE (SOAPBOX PODCAST 7/6/15)

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CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX JULY 6, 2015 GUEST: KEVIN ZEESE TOPIC: FLUSH THE TPP!  KEVIN This week, Cindy chats with activist-extraordinaire Kevin Zeese about mobilization against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. FLUSH THE TPP! Stop the Global Corporate Coup  POPULAR RESISTA NCE    RECENT SOAPBOX WITH  RAY LIGHT, GENERAL SECRETARY ROL-USA ABOUT TPP: CLICK IMAGE FOR SHOW WITH RAY LIGHT