The fact that such a misfit could ascend to the presidency is testimony to the effectiveness of the capital system.

Under capitalism, political power is not derived from the people, as would be the case in a democracy; nor does it not flow from the bottom up—it matriculates from the top down.

It is really quite simple: The men and women who are in office were put there by people with immense wealth to represent the interests of the wealthy, to make money for them. And that is exactly what they are doing.

In many ways, George W. Bush is the perfect man for the job, if one understands what his real work entails as an emissary of the ruling class.   more »

* The transformation of the U.S. military into a global oil protection service whose primary mission is to defend America's overseas sources of oil and natural gas, while patrolling the world's major pipelines and supply routes.

* The transformation of Russia into an energy superpower with control over Eurasia's largest supplies of oil and natural gas and the resolve to convert these assets into ever increasing political influence over neighboring states.

* A ruthless scramble among the great powers for the remaining oil, natural gas, and uranium reserves of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, accompanied by recurring military interventions, the constant installation and replacement of client regimes, systemic corruption and repression, and the continued impoverishment of the great majority of those who have the misfortune to inhabit such energy-rich regions.

* Increased state intrusion into, and surveillance of, public and private life as reliance on nuclear power grows, bringing with it an increased threat of sabotage, accident, and the diversion of fissionable materials into the hands of illicit nuclear proliferators.   more »

A large segment of American society seems utterly brainwashed, accepting the 'truth' relentlessly fed to them. They desperately want to believe the slogans about the "Land of the Free", the "American Way", "Only in America" and "American Democracy".

I would suggest that this is a throwback to the 'peasant' mentality. You do what you're told. You believe in what you're told to believe. You're passive, conditioned and easily led.

The peasant is a type who has disappeared from Western Europe with excellent effects both socially and politically.

The American peasant however has a lot to answer for. This is most vividly shown in the public's judgment about the rightness of the Iraq war where views are sharply divided between Europe and America.   more »

Somewhere, deep in the cold, worm-infested soil that a mother will keep watered by tears, lies one of 3,000 young Americans.

Dispersed across the land, thousands more will forever carry the scars of war in their battered bodies and hollowed souls, mutants battling hellish shadows and silent phantoms.

And the Iraqis, yes those, Mr President, see them spiral into Dante's lower rings of hell, as they join the fastest-growing sect in the land: the dead—hundreds of thousands strong.

Watch the White Man's Burden devolve into an orgy of torture and mayhem. Has it ever devolved into anything else?   more »

The unwillingness of American and Western societies, in general, to confront naked Islamophobic incitement recalls so many pathological actions associated with the development of modern anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe that we Americans must ask ourselves whether Islamophobia is the New Anti-Semitism.

Unabashed Islamophobe Robert Spencer, who has strong associations with neocon organizations and leaders, routinely mischaracterizes Islamic religion and cultures.

The title of his book, Islam Unveiled, is strongly reminiscent of Eisenmenger's classic anti-Jewish text, Entdecktes Judentum (Judaism Unmasked).

He recently visited Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts, at the invitation of this synagogue's Israel Action Forum in order to assist in the ongoing defamation of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB).   more »

The Iraqi government is failing to properly discharge its duties and responsibilities.

It therefore seems incongruous that the government, with the help of USAid, the World Bank and the UN, is pushing through a comprehensive oil law to be promulgated close to an IMF deadline for the end of last year.

Once again, an externally imposed timetable takes precedence over Iraq's interests. Before embarking on controversial measures such as this law favouring foreign oil firms, the Iraqi parliament and government must prove that they are capable of protecting the country's sovereignty and the people's rights and interests.

A government that is failing to protect the lives of its citizens must not embark on controversial legislation that ties the hands of future Iraqi leaders, and which threatens to squander the Iraqis' precious, exhaustible resource in an orgy of waste, corruption and theft.   more »