Stephen Lendman

Things appear heading closer toward full-scale US intervention. The fullness of time will have final say.

On April 28, The New York Times headlined "Lawmakers Call for Stronger US Action in Syria," saying: Republicans "took President Obama to task Sunday for what they characterized as dangerous inaction in Syria…." Senators John McCain (R. AZ) and Lindsey Graham are Armed Services Committee members. They "warn(ed) that failure to intervene in Syria would embolden nations like Iran and North Korea." "If we keep this hands-off approach to Syria, this indecisive action toward Syria, kind of not knowing what we’re going to do next, we’re going to start a war with Iran because Iran’s going to take our inaction in Syria as meaning we’re not serious about their nuclear weapons program," said Graham. Michigan Republican Representative Mike Rogers claims Assad's been using chemical weapons for the past two years. Obama's "red line" can't be a "dotted line," he said.

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Joseph Kishore

Syrian state TV reported that PM Wael al-Halqi had escaped
an assassination bid in Damascus. (Syria TV)

In its article yesterday on the failed assassination attempt against Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi in Damascus, the New York Times includes a remarkable, and revealing, passage. After noting that several had been injured (in fact, at least six were reportedly killed) in a blast that left “a car reduced to a charred skeleton and, nearby, a bus with its windows shattered,” the Times goes on to write:

“State television in Syria called the attack a ‘terrorist explosion’ that was ‘an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister.’ Terrorist is the word used by the authorities to depict their armed adversaries.”

The Syrian government, the Times suggests, is manipulating the word “terrorism” in an effort to tar its US-backed opponents.

What unbridled cynicism! It is precisely the American government and its subservient media that have perfected the use of the term “terrorism” and invented the “war on terror” to justify Washington’s wars abroad. Any armed opposition to these wars—including attacks on US and allied occupying forces—is denounced as “terrorist” by the American government and news media.

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China Daily

Kimani Gray Protest on Church Ave between E55th st Nostrand Ave, and
in Brooklyn, NY on March 13. In response to the shooting of a 16-year-old
boy by police, protesters in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn have been
holding nightly vigils and marches and there have been frequent clashes
with NYPD. (Stephanie Keith / Polaris)

Editor's note: The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China published a report titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2012" on Sunday. [The] following is the full text:

Foreword: The State Department of the United States recently released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, posing as "the world judge of human rights" again. As in previous years, the reports are full of carping and irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions including China.

However, the U.S. turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and never said a word about it. Facts show that there are serious human rights problems in the U.S. which incur extensive criticism in the world. The Human Rights Record of the U.S. in 2012 is hereby prepared to reveal the true human rights situation of the U.S. to people across the world by simply laying down some facts.

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