Stephen Lendman

On March 11, Assad repeated what he's said numerous times. He is "ready to support any honest effort to solve the situation."

He told former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (Ban Ki-moon's envoy appointed with Washington's approval) that doing so depends on accurately assessing conditions on the ground. It also requires admitting Syria's dealing with Western-backed insurgents.

As a result, he’s obligated to protect Syrians from heavily armed gangs. Violence won't stop until chaos, instability, and terrorism they cause ends.

Annan came to Syria on a mission. A reliable imperial tool, his one-way settlement terms involved Assad accepting Western demands.

Assad said "no political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability."

Annan wanted none of it. His pro-Western marching orders mandated he follow them to the letter. Assad never had a chance for honest dialogue and peaceful resolution. Washington won't tolerate it.

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Stephen Lendman

Israel's entire history reflects depraved, out-of-control targeted and mass killings. Days of unrelenting bombing, murdering and injuring Gazans shows its contempt for law and human life.

Netanyahu exceeds the worst of Ariel Sharon and other rogue Israeli leaders. Gideon Levy says Israel never had one like him before. He governs by deceit, mocks the peace process, and reflects extreme racist hate for Arabs.

Murdering Gazans shows why. So did his comment saying he'll kill as many more as he wishes "as long as necessary" to achieve his degenerate aims.

Four merciless bombing days left at least 25 dead and dozens injured, many seriously. Civilians, including children were victimized. Washington expressed support. Blaming victims for Israeli crimes, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland spoke for war criminal Hillary Clinton saying:

"We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from Gaza by terrorists into southern Israel in recent days, which has dramatically and dangerously escalated in the past day."

"We call on those responsible to take immediate action to stop these cowardly acts. We regret the loss of life and injuries, and we call on both sides to make every effort to restore calm."

America's scurrilous UN envoy Susan Rice also "thoroughly condemn(ed) terrorist rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israeli towns & cities and call(ed) on both sides to restore calm." Obama so far said nothing.

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John Pilger

In 1963, a senior Australian government official, A.R. Taysom, deliberated on the wisdom of deploying women as trade representatives. "Such an appointee would not stay young and attractive forever [because] a spinster lady can, and very often does, turn into something of a battleaxe with the passing years [whereas] a man usually mellows."

On International Women's Day 2012, such primitive views are worth recalling; but what has happened to modern feminism? Why is it so bereft of its political, indeed socialist roots that any woman who "achieves" within an immoral system is to be admired? Take the rise of Julia Gillard as Australia's first female prime minister, so celebrated by leading feminists such as writer Anne Summers and Germaine Greer. Both are unstinting in their applause of Gillard, the "remarkable woman" who on 27 February saw off a challenge from Kevin Rudd, the former Labor prime minister she deposed in a secretive, essentially macho backroom coup in 2010.

On 3 March, Greer wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that she "fell in love with" the "matter-of-fact" Gillard long ago. Omitting entirely Gillard's politics, she asked, "What's not to like? That she's a woman, that's what. An unmarried, middle-aged woman in power - any man's and many women's nightmare".

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James Petras

There is clear and overwhelming evidence that the uprising to overthrow President Assad of Syria is a violent, power grab led by foreign-supported fighters who have killed and wounded thousands of Syrian soldiers, police and civilians, partisans of the government and its peaceful opposition.

The outrage expressed by politicians in the West and Gulf State and in the mass media, about the ‘killing of peaceful Syrian citizens protesting injustice’ is cynically designed to cover up the documented reports of violent seizure of neighborhoods, villages and towns by armed bands, brandishing machine guns and planting road-side bombs.

The assault on Syria is backed by foreign funds, arms and training. Due to a lack of domestic support, however, to be successful, direct foreign military intervention will be necessary. For this reason a huge propaganda and diplomatic campaign has been mounted to demonize the legitimate Syrian government. The goal is to impose a puppet regime and strengthen Western imperial control in the Middle East. In the short run, this will further isolate Iran in preparation for a military attack by Israel and the US and, in the long run, it eliminates another independent secular regime friendly to China and Russia.

In order to mobilize world support behind this Western, Israeli and Gulf State-funded power grab, several propaganda ploys have been used to justify another blatant violation of a country’s sovereignty after their successful destruction of the secular governments of Iraq and Libya.

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