Matthew J. Nasuti

They are shunned by politicians who want happy news

Michelle and Barack Obama have time for Hollywood, but not for fallen soldiers. This week the Obamas had time to appear on the television show “The View.” This follows guest appearances by Mrs. Obama on the Jay Leno show, the David Letterman show and the Steve Harvey show, which follows a fund raising dinner for the Obamas in Los Angeles with actor George Clooney.

The last time President Obama went to Dover Air Force Base to pay his respects to the returning caskets of war heroes was on August 9, 2011. It is not clear if President Obama or Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have ever attended a funeral for any of the U.S. military, diplomatic or civilian casualties of the Afghan war. Perhaps if they attended some of these funerals there would be less of them as these officials would quickly tire of these tragic ordeals.

The caskets make a lonely journey from Bagram Air Base to Dover Air Force Base, where they are quietly routed to their final destinations. They arrive with no fanfare and no headlines. Obama Administration officials seem too important and too busy to pay any respects.

The names of the fallen and their stories and contributions remain largely unknown because the American news media has polled its audiences and determined that such stories are not popular. Those who gave their lives for the United States deserve better, as do their loved ones who remain behind.

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Gilad Atzmon

Is it really possible that not a single Palestinian or Palestinian solidarity activist would stand up for Greta Berlin, one of the founders of the Free Gaza Movement and its spokesperson for the last several years? Is it possible that not a single peace activist would rush to defend the person who was directly and physically involved in every naval attempt to break the siege on Gaza? Apparently, yes.

A few days ago Greta Berlin had been subject to a vile Israeli and Zionist smear campaign following her facebook post containing the following message: “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” Berlin also added to her Facebook post a link to a video of a lecture by Eustace Mullins. I am not familiar with the work of Mullins but I guess that he is far from being a popular political thinker in Tel Aviv or Golders Green.

Zionists and hasbara agents were very quick to slander Berlin. They tagged her as an ‘anti Semite’ and a ‘Holocaust denier’. But clearly there is no Holocaust denial in Berlin’s message.

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Stephen Lendman

What's been ongoing for over 18 months looks all too familiar. It could continue for some time. It took most of the 1990s to fully balkanize Yugoslavia. America was the lead belligerent. Whether or not Washington plans the same for Syria remains to be seen. Only the fullness of time will tell. For sure regime change is prioritized. Ravaging the country ruthlessly continues.

If full-scale war erupts, perhaps hundreds of thousands may die. America doesn't keep count or care. Unchallenged dominance alone matters. Mass slaughter and destruction are means to very ugly ends. Whether or not achieved, ruins and human misery testify to America's ruthlessness. That's how imperialism works. It terrorizes humanity everywhere it targets. Syria may or may not be ground zero. It's hard to tell. Washington wages so many direct and proxy wars. It's official policy to ravage one country after another or in multiples.

No nation ever threatened human survival more than America. It's no idle speculation. Mushroom cloud determination may decide things one way or another. Forget about who's president next year. Policies remain the same. Duopoly power mandates it. Permanent war is policy. World dominance is prioritized. Imagine what's coming if not stopped.

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