Forse Franklin Roosevelt non disse mai del dittatore nicaraguense Anastasio Somoza “sarà un figlio di puttana, ma è il nostro figlio di puttana”, ma probabilmente lo pensò; e anche tanti altri presidenti devono aver pensato qualcosa di simile di miriadi di dittatori brutali. Ma se il governo americano ha costretto gli americani ad appoggiare dittature…

While Franklin Roosevelt may not have said that Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza “may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch,” he probably thought it — just as other presidents have had similar thoughts about myriad brutal rulers. So if the U.S. government has forced the American people to support useful dictators, why is…

Gli attentati di Parigi del tredici novembre erano ancora in corso quando già si levavano le prime voci che chiedevano porte chiuse ai profughi in Europa e America. Per chi conosce la politica e gli obiettivi dello Stato Islamico, l’organizzazione fascista responsabile degli attentati, la tragedia è evidente. Come i tanti spacconi sciovinisti e nazionalisti…

L’atteggiamento isterico riguardo lo Stato Islamico ora incentra l’attenzione sui rifugiati che cercano di sfuggire alla violenza in Siria e Iraq. Prevedibilmente la camera dei deputati, a maggioranza repubblicana, ha deciso ieri di incrementare i controlli sulla vita dei potenziali rifugiati: una pretesa di onniscienza che si traduce in esclusione. Ma il progetto di legge…

Guardate, neanche i regimi autoritari e totalitari possono evitare il terrorismo interno. Allora, che speranze può avere una società relativamente aperta? Una società aperta abbonda di “facili bersagli”, ovvero di persone inermi che ogni giorno vanno e vengono liberamente. Sono un bersaglio facile per chi vuole il male, specie se gli assalitori cercano la morte….

The Paris attacks on 11/13 were hardly concluded before the first cries for excluding refugees from Europe and the U.S were shouted. The tragedy is clear to those who know the politics and goals of the Islamic State, the fascist organization responsible for the attack. Like so many western chauvinists and nationalistic goons in this country…

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and Kenya, CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta asked Barack Obama, “Why can’t we take out these bastards?” Acosta echoes many Americans who are hungry for revenge, and favor further military intervention in the Middle East. Ironically, those wishing to exact revenge with…

Hysteria over the Islamic State is now focused on the refugees seeking to escape the violence in Syria and Iraq. Predictably, the Republican-controlled House yesterday voted to increase background checks on potential refugees, a demand for omniscience that would amount to exclusion. The bill faces trouble in the Senate, however, and President Obama, who wants…

Look, even authoritarian and totalitarian states can’t prevent domestic terrorism. What hope do relatively open societies have? Open societies abound with “soft targets”; that is, noncombatants going about their everyday lives. They are easy hits for those determined to inflict harm, especially if the assailants seek to die in the process. We also know, as…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Dylan Delikta‘s “Assist the Refugees, Abolish the Borders” read by Katrina Haffner and edited by Nick Ford. We cannot let the tyranny of borders continue. It is apparent, especially with the current mass migration of Syrian refugees without shelter or safety in Europe or elsewhere, that borders are inhumane and need…

Rami G. Khouri discusses the GCC intervention in Yemen. Robert Parry discusses whether neocons are an existential threat. Alfred McCoy discusses Obama’s policy towards China. Nick Turse discusses the meaning of assassination. Vijay Prashad discusses rogue states and diplomacy with Noam Chomsky. Yves Engler discusses the Canadian contribution to British colonialism. Glenn Greenwald discusses a…

The Middle East is in great turmoil. It is plagued with war fought by factions of varied political, ethnic and religious tendencies. Some are fighting for liberation, some for nationalism, and others for religious fundamentalism. Whilst the carnage continues, two things have become certain: First, these wars are the result of decades (arguably centuries) of…

Every year, we’re subjected to another round of mawkish, smarmy 9/11 memorial ceremonies whose main purpose is to maintain loyalty to the very national security state whose aggression brought the terror attacks of September 11 on us in the first place. It’s all part of an endless cycle, repeated over and over, dating back to…

Joseph R. Stromberg discusses realism vs non-intervention. David Swanson discusses the Vietnam War 50 years later. Andrew Levine discusses Israel and the alleged threats to it. Shamus Cooke discusses the idea of a no-fly zone in Syria. Lew Rockwell discusses Ron Paul’s new anti-war book. John Feffer discusses the Kurds and the current conflicts in…

King John of England, who 800 years ago this week was forced at Runnymede to affix his Great Seal to Magna Carta — which at least in theory subordinated his power to law — might have envied President Obama. Sure, Obama also pays lip service to idea that the executive is subject to law. But…

Eric Draister discusses whether the war in Syria has become a regional war. Donald J. Bourdreaux discusses freedom’s instrinsic value. Sheldon Richman discusses abolishing special ops. Steven Horowitz discusses socialism as war and war as socialism. Walter Olson discusses truancy laws. Gregory A. Daddis discusses America’s addiction to war and fear of peace. John Wight…

American politicians frequently declare that the government’s first duty is to protect us from foreign threats. If that’s so, why have they embroiled us in the Middle East? Instead of keeping us safe, they seem to strive to put us in harm’s way by provoking one side or the other in sectarian, ethnic, tribal, and…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Ryan Calhoun‘s “There is No Hope/The Anarchist as Lover” read by Trevor Hultner and edited by Nick Ford. Music: Despair and Triumph, Danse Morialta, and Reawakening, by Kevin MacLeod. incompetech.com “The war culture is all-enveloping and there is no end. The American resolve against war does not exist beyond an Internet fad, entirely obliterated…

National Public Radio (Npr) ha condotto il suo programma “La Settimana Politica” del dodici settembre con un’analisi del messaggio alla nazione in cui Obama ha parlato dello Stato Islamico. Giornalisti e mezzibusti hanno discusso i fondamenti del messaggio: È stato abbastanza duro? Riuscirà nel suo compito? Chi c’è dietro Isis? Ripensandoci, mi sono accorto che…

National Public Radio (NPR) led its “Week in Politics” program of September 12 off with analysis of US president Barack Obama’s address to the nation on the Islamic State. Various journalists and talking heads discussed the fundamentals of Obama’s speech — was it strong enough, will it get the job done, just who is ISIS anyway? Afterward, I realized the United…