The Anti-Empire Report
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Issue #17 — January 20th, 2005
On January 20, 1969, during the inaugural parade for Richard Nixon, I stood in a crowd of onlookers on Pennsylvania Avenue and when Nixon’s limousine passed by I threw an apple at the car. It bounced off the car behind the one carrying Tricky Dick (who now seems like a liberal compared to the likes of George W., Bill Clinton and John Kerry; seriously). No law enforcement authority rushed into the crowd looking for the perpetrator. Imagine if I had repeated my act at today’s inauguration. Keep reading →
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Issue #16 — December 19th, 2004
It should have come as no surprise at all the recent disclosure that the Bush administration has spent more than $65 million in the past two years to aid political organizations in Ukraine, to train groups and individuals opposed to the Russian-backed government candidate, to bring opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko to meet US leaders, and to help to generate an exit poll indicating that he won the November 21 disputed election (thus seizing the initiative in the propaganda battle with the regime). Keep reading →
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Issue #15 — November 19th, 2004
“How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?” asked the _Daily Mirror_ of England in large type on its front page two days after the American presidential election. What the Brits may not realize is that many of those who voted for Bush actually pride themselves on their ignorance. They associate being any kind of intellectual with elitist East and West Coasters, the dissolute 1960s, “old Europe”, and other nasties on their love-to-hate list; for many of them as well, whether consciously or unconsciously, it is a source of satisfaction that they have a president who’s no smarter than they are. Keep reading →
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Issue #14 — October 24th, 2004
Time Magazine reported that the Bush administration had a plan to use the CIA to funnel money to candidates it favored in the forthcoming Iraqi elections. The rationale given was that Iran was probably bankrolling its own preferred candidate. Whether Iran has actually been engaged in such I do not know, but what is certain is that it is irrelevant to American policy. Keep reading →
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Issue #13 — September 17th, 2004
Is it not peculiar to circulate a statement calling upon people to vote for a particular candidate without giving a single reason why that candidate is worthy of support? Indeed, the statement is critical of the candidate’s position on the most important current issue. Such is what has been sent out by a group of prominent progressives, who were members of Ralph Nader’s 2000 Citizens Committee, urging a vote for John Kerry in swing states, even while they “strongly disagree with Kerry’s policies on Iraq and other issues.” Keep reading →
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Issue #12 — August 21st, 2004
It gives me no pleasure to tear into the Democrats, as I’ve done on several occasions in this report, because I sorely wish there was a viable alternative to Bush. Kerry is viable, but he’s not an alternative, particularly on foreign policy where his views are indistinguishable from those of George W. Ralph Nader is an alternative, but he’s not viable because the entire electoral process is designed to make life impossible for third-party candidates. Dennis Kucinich presented himself as an alternative, but it’s no exaggeration and no cliché to say that he “sold out”, abandoning his entire anti-war platform at the Democratic convention without any public fight, calling upon his supporters to rally behind Kerry, and getting nothing in return. Keep reading →
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Issue #11 — July 14th, 2004
For those of you who’ve been wondering why there hasn’t been an Anti-Empire Report in a while—at least three of you?—it’s because I was very busy finishing a new book. The book is called “Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire”, a collection of short pieces of mine, including all previous Anti-Empire Reports, and other essays both old and new. Keep reading →
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Issue #10 — May 12th, 2004
On October 21, 1994, the United States became a State Party to the “Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”. Article 2, section 2 of the Convention states: “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture.” Keep reading →
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Issue #9 — April 3rd, 2004
Saturday afternoon, March 6, a shuttle boat moving through Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was hit by a sudden and ferocious gust of wind and capsized; 25 people were thrown overboard; some were trapped under the boat; disaster was imminent. But the scene was in sight of a group of sailors stationed at the Naval Reserve Center at Fort McHenry, about 1,000 feet away. They quickly sprung into action. Almost everyone was saved. And what thought came to me upon reading the story of this rescue? If only American military forces—who would really rather not study how best to kill—and their superb, costly equipment could be used for life-enhancing purposes all the time, in all corners of the world. Keep reading →
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Issue #8 — March 10th, 2004
March 4 a German appeals court ordered a new trial for the only person to be convicted for a role in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, saying the proceeding had been compromised by a US refusal to provide access to a key witness. Keep reading →
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Issue #7 — February 17th, 2004
The following is not simply a diatribe against humorist Al Franken. It’s a diatribe against all mushy-thinking liberals. Franken tells us he is against the war in Iraq. But he was part of a tour that went to Iraq to entertain the troops, truly a feat of intellectual and moral gymnastics that enables him to oppose terrible military violence and crimes against humanity while honoring those who carry out the terrible military violence and crimes against humanity. Would he have condemned the oppression and torture inflicted by General Pinochet while expressing his support of the Chilean troops carrying out the oppression and torture? Keep reading →
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Issue #6 — January 22nd, 2004
“Preaching to the converted” ... “Preaching to the choir” ... That’s what speakers and writers and other activists are repeatedly told they’re doing; i.e., saying the same old thing to the same old people, just spinning their wheels. But long experience as speaker, writer and activist in the area of foreign policy tells me it just ain’t so. From the questions and comments I regularly get from my audiences, via email and in person, and from other people’s audiences where I’m in attendance, I can plainly see that there are numerous significant gaps and misconceptions in the choir’s thinking, often leaving them confused, unable to understand or see through the next government lie or shell game, unknowing or forgetful of what happened in the past that illuminates the present, or knowing the facts but unable to apply them at the appropriate moment, vulnerable to being led astray by the next person who offers a specious argument that opposes what they currently believe, or think they believe. Keep reading →