Lawrence Wilkerson gives a sobering analysis of the delicate situation now taking place on the Korean Peninsula.  Talking with Paul Jay of The Real News Network, the former diplomat provides a clear assessment of the seriousness of the current state of affairs in the region and talks about the dire consequences should hostilities escalate there.  In his discussion Wilkerson states, “the Pentagon’s lowest estimates of casualties, when I left [the State Department], for war on the Korean Peninsula in the first few days was 100,000 [people], including a lot of [American] non-combatants whom we probably cannot get out.”  Considering I’m one of those non-combatants Wilkerson talks about, his estimation hits close to home indeed.

Technorati Tags: China, Lawrence Wilkerson, South Korea, war

Rachel Maddow has a great re-cap of the faulty and deceitful tactics used by the Bush administration that led to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.  Using video evidence Maddow shows the shifting justifications for war — an aggressive war that was clearly criminal.  Yet Obama and the Democrats want us to look forward, not back.  This is all in the past, they say.  What we have here is an affirmation that our political elites are and will never be held responsible for their crimes.  Completely depressing if you ask me.

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Technorati Tags: George W. Bush, Iraq war, propaganda, Rachel Maddow

I know this is from last week (sorry, been watching the World Cup), but it’s yet another Daily Show clip exposing the sorry state of the American mainstream media. Michael Hastings, with his Rolling Stone piece that led to the downfall of General McChrystal, showed these morons how to do real journalism and the best they can do is whine about how Hastings got so much access.

For more on this I recommend Glenn Greenwald’s excellent post on the subject.

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, corporate media, McChrystal, Obama

So it’s been six years since the US Senate voted to authorize the president to invade Iraq.  It’s worth reviewing that time right now.  It was then that Congress – with many Democrats joining the Republican push – relinquished much of their power and played an essential role in establishing an imperial presidency.  As we well know any dissent was ignored or attacked as anti-American and unpatriotic.  Those were fearful times indeed.

Bill Moyers recently covered what was happening at the time.  Watch his video essay on the subject:

Technorati Tags: Bill Moyers, Democrats, Iraq, Iraq war authorization, Journal, war

This is a little mashup I threw together.  The audio is the late Kurt Vonnegut reading from his classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five.  In it the hero Billy Pilgrim describes his experiences one night while watching the late movie as he waits for the Tralfamadorians.

Technorati Tags: Kurt Vonnegut, war