Yes, Trump is bad news. But too many people are so taken in by these 4-year election cycles that they lose all sense of perspective. George W Bush and company rightly gave rise to huge anti-war demonstrations, but then too many people were lulled to sleep by the promises of Barack Obama that the anti-war movement simply disappeared. Though the warning signs were there (his … [Read more...] about Obama Fact Sheet
Authoritarian Neoliberalism and the Myth of Free Markets
Since the inauguration of the so-called War on Terror in 2001, but especially since the outbreak of global financial crisis in 2008, there has been much talk of the “return of the state.” At first, this notion was related to the increasing ubiquity of security themes after 2001, and later it was invoked in commentary on the massive bailouts of financial institutions. But while … [Read more...] about Authoritarian Neoliberalism and the Myth of Free Markets
Trump’s Threat to Charge Japan More for U.S. Forces: Taoka Shunji says “Let them leave.” (Japan Focus)
Ever since the end of America's Vietnam catastrophe, experts on both sides of the Pacific have sounded warnings about anachronistic, wasteful, and dangerously misguided U.S. military policies, seemingly perpetuated by inertia, in East Asia. Yet their recommendations are ignored and new policy initiatives thwarted. As a candidate for president in early 1975, Jimmy Carter … [Read more...] about Trump’s Threat to Charge Japan More for U.S. Forces: Taoka Shunji says “Let them leave.” (Japan Focus)
The silencing of an anti-U.S. base protester in Okinawa
When three antiwar activists were detained by the Tokyo police for 75 days in 2004, the Nobel Prize-winning international rights group, Amnesty International, formally declared them to be “prisoners of conscience,” thus tarring Japan’s reputation with a brush that is ordinarily reserved for the world’s most oppressive regimes.A similar story is playing out in Okinawa as I … [Read more...] about The silencing of an anti-U.S. base protester in Okinawa
The real enemy is right here in America
A U.S. veteran, Iraq veteran Michael Prysner, speaking during a rally at the White House against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rally was organized by Veterans For Peace. "We know that our enemies are not other poor people abroad. Our enemies are the people that laid us off from our jobs, that denied us healthcare, that make it impossible to get an education. Our enemies … [Read more...] about The real enemy is right here in America