http://rabble.ca/columnists/2013/11/libya-and-responsibility-to-protect
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/26/pers-n26.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/26/istanbul-dispatch/
http://truth-out.org/news/item/20167-the-resurgence-of-authoritarianism-in-economically-beleaguered-greece-and-the-shaping-of-a-neoliberal-proto-fascist-state

ok. so, do we not have enough data yet to understand that the theory that suggests that tax cuts magically create economic growth is the economic equivalent of free energy created by a perpetual motion machine? how much more data do we need? fucking idiots...
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/11/26/economic_report_paints_grim_picture_of_ontario_cohn.html

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/11/26/liberals_propose_10year_plan_to_replace_crumbling_infrastructure.html

http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2013/11/26/obama-approves-fracked-gas-pipeline-used-to-dilute-tar-sands/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/26/10-more-years-in-afghanistan/
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/26/why_the_nuclear_deal_could_give_iran_a_freer_hand_in_syria
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20289-they-call-us-illegal-fast-food-workers-face-silent-raids
http://jacobinmag.com/2013/11/syria-the-revolution-that-never-was/
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/27/pers-n27.html
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/27/adiz-n27.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/27/bandars-reign-of-terror/
http://fpif.org/indias-dilemma-accessing-central-asias-wealth/
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/29/adiz-n29.html

if they want western media support, they're going to have to get angular hair cuts and look good in lipstick.
http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/egypt-heavy-sentences-female-protesters-blow-political-freedoms/

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/30/hezb-n30.html
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/11/30/usch-n30.html
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11058

the armed forces qualification test measures intelligence?

lol.

perhaps if, by intelligence, you meant "smart enough to know that in order to get ahead in this world you have to shut up and do what you're told."

there's no connection between intelligence and "success" in our society. that's been demonstrated repeatedly.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/would-you-rather-be-born-smart-or-rich/281828/

western propaganda. the political spectrum in the ukraine is defined by nato and russian puppets, who are fighting for control. the thing is this: while the western media runs stories on these pro-nato demonstrations, they don't run stories on the pro-russian demonstrations. which are usually bigger. much bigger.

ukraine wants to maintain it's sovereignty, but it does not want to leave the russian sphere of influence. it can't stay out of it for long.

speaking of which, we're kind of due for an anti-western reaction in eastern europe. the idea that countries like poland and lithuania belong in the western sphere is not sustainable. expect that in the near future.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/29/ukraine_russia_europe_protests#sthash.0EAkz7H6.dpbs

how do they get away with printing this shit?

"But of course Iran is not Japan -- a peaceful, stable democracy aligned with the West. It is a bloody-minded, terror-sponsoring, hegemony-seeking revisionist power that has serially violated its non-proliferation commitments and which aims to destroy Israel, drive America out of the Middle East, and bring down the House of Saud.

Whether or not President Obama fully appreciates that distinction, the Saudis most definitely do."

the saudis, on the other hand, are a paragon of rights and virtues?

yeesh.
</kermit>

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/29/iran_saudi_arabia_nuclear_war_obama#sthash.Yq8V2c5X.dpbs

if this administration wants to demonstrate that it has a shred of decency and credibility, it should extend the sanctions regime to the saudis - who really *are* everything the propaganda machine spews out about iran, and worse.

the idea of crackpot wahhabi extremists with their fingers on the button is infinitely more startling.

this was predictable. what the americans are showing us here is how it is that rights are merely bourgeois fantasies.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/11/27/religious_rights_for_corporations_supreme_court

legally and realistically speaking, i can't see how the current supreme court is going to rule against religious freedom in this context.

really, what it demonstrates is why health care should not be controlled by employers. and why the aca is not a long term solution.

i don't think it's an accident that the show skipped over the mennonite issue. most people would intuitively agree that it's wrong to force a religious organization to act against it's own principles like this. but the greater question is why it's on their plate in the first place.

well, bob, remember: the only alternative to nationalization is socialization. the state has two choices: it can do what people wants or it can be crushed by an angry mob that enforces what it wants. in the meantime, you can try and steal some taxes from us as you're waiting. but you can't actually ignore us.

this idea of ruling people is completely out-dated.

http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/11/27/control_your_own_hydro_bill_says_energy_minister.html

thoughts on the new autechre ep

the ep has a lot of shape to it. always the best autechre. this is the climax/conclusion. it's really gorgeous as it is, in a way that only autechre is capable of, but it makes more sense if you listen to it in context.

yeah. the pope wants to be a politician...

i hope somebody shoots him in the face before he builds up too large of an audience. about the last thing the world needs right now is a rise in christian fundamentalism.

basically, i don't care what he has to say because the office he holds is too tainted to take any of it seriously and the threat he poses, as a religious leader, is too profound to negate any positivity he might be faking to gain power.

the media is being very irresponsible in giving him a platform. unplug his mic. send him back to the vatican. send his followers to school. let us move on...

this is sort of peripheral to the argument (which i think is not existing in this reality; middle america is not in any way represented by wall street), but why does the bourgeoisie get interesting music while the rest of us are stuck with boring folk garbage? this is a strain of thought that has long bothered me about leftists, this desire to avoid any kind of art that might be engaged with intellectually. instead, why can't we abolish folk as primitivist snoredom and embrace serious music for all?

i mean, the whole point of reducing labour through socialism is to free up time for learning and art. without art, we'd might as well just throw ourselves into the machines as sacrifices to the production process...

http://jacobinmag.com/2013/11/the-end-of-classical-music/

ok, i know how the power dynamics on this side of the iron curtain (which has shifted significantly east) work, but why the deafening silence on perspectives from russia and china? or analyses on how the greater geo-political deal plays into it?

i stated this before it happened: the americans need to pull back, because the iranians are getting friendly with the chinese - largely as a result of the sanctions. i mean, the market for their products collapsed. no americans. no europeans. that was supposed to collapse the economy, and maybe it did to an extent. but china and india remained standing with open arms, and the result was predictable - closer trade ties between china and iran, along with talks about joining the sco.

major oops.

but the media is just focusing on obama's toughness. of course. not oops, but strong negotiating. when obama scratches his ass, he needs to use a special tool because his fingers are made of steel. cower before his might.

not to pick on him, it's the system; same as bush before, same as whomever follows.

but, why no analysis from the other side? the chinese government is a fucking cult, no hope there. but do i need to start reading ria novosti again or what?

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11089