berkeley

If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. – James Madison

I agree to this Constitution with all its faults because I think a general government necessary for us, and believe further that this is likely to be well-administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other. -- Benjamin Franklin

If you were free of self interest... and very few of us can make that claim... the world would look like a seething madhouse of runaway appetites. -- les visible

Submitted Comments (420)

Iraq Inquiry: The First Big Lie »

• once a ball begins rolling downhill, it's destination becomes more difficult to predict. maybe the coverup will unravel despite their best efforts.

  3 weeks, 6 days ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

What if China did to the US what the US has done to Iran? An analogy to help embrace facts »

• while many countries employ myths about their own uniqueness, the u.s. carries its own delusions to the world stage, forcing millions of innocents to bear ...

  3 weeks, 6 days ago 2 replies View »

• 7 comments from 5 members total

Moral Cowards vs. The American Taliban »

• where is the outrage for two illegal and unjust wars? for a congress that serves the ruling class? for a cia that tortures people and ...

  4 weeks ago 1 reply View »

• 110 comments from 31 members total

Goldman's Non-Apology »

• thanks for the link.
  
  since this is from the past week, it leaves the same question: why are they doing this now, and not ...

  4 weeks ago 3 replies View »

• agree, many opinion pieces have done so, with herbert near the top of the list.

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 5 replies View »

• i doubt that the nytimes has ever crossed the banking industry.
  
  so whenever they do something this out of character, it raises the timing ...

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 6 replies View »

• 17 comments from 5 members total

Nick Turse: As Washington Talks Iraq Withdrawal, the Pentagon Builds Up Bases in the Region »

• obama's commitment to transparency ended last january.

  4 weeks ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage - SPIEGEL ONLINE »

• i'm not psychic.
  
  spiegel generally has reasonable news stories. as i said, this isn't news.

  4 weeks ago 0 replies View »

• the article is an opinion piece, and not news.
  
  steingart's sense of history is very limited. there are many easy criticisms of obama that ...

  4 weeks ago 2 replies View »

• 59 comments from 19 members total

Interview with Lu Guang, the photographer of “Pollution in China”| ChinaHush »

• the interview is great, but the photographs themselves are almost beyond belief. the link to them is in the article.

  4 weeks ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

The key question–is Blair a war criminal? - Opinion - The Independent »

• the "downing street memos" have been out for years. they already constitute proof of his crimes.
  
  if the new hearings don't confirm his status, ...

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 0 replies View »

• 16 comments from 9 members total

Top Dem to Obama: 'There Ain't Going to Be Money for Nothing if We Pour It All Into Afghanistan' »

• it's already past the point of reason.
  
  the best estimate for the total cost of these wars, so far, is three trillion dollars.
  
  

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 0 replies View »

• 45 comments from 22 members total

5 Federal Court Cases That Weakened The 4th Amendment »

• water falling drop by drop, wears away the hardest stone.

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

"Why we fight": The Nature of Modern Imperialism »

• either we choose to reduce the size of the empire or we go bankrupt. there is no third choice.

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

Leaked documents reveal No 10 cover-up over Iraq invasion »

• blair lied and lied, but somewhere the paper trail remained, along with people's memories.
  
  how will blair get out of this one?

  4 weeks, 1 day ago 0 replies View »

• 2 comments from 2 members total

US Economic Crisis Is Getting Bloody - Violent Deaths Are Now Following Evictions, Foreclosures and Job Losses »

• the ruling class, and hence the media, have no interest in tracking personal tragedy.
  
  this story only hints at the transformation really taking place.

  1 month ago 0 replies View »

• 1 comment from 1 member total

US Dismay At Israel's New Expansion of "Settlement"In "East Jerusalem" »

• "dismay" is the same as "whatever."
  
  obama rolled over.

  1 month ago 12 replies View »

• 32 comments from 6 members total

Canadians handed over innocent Afghans to torture: diplomat - Yahoo! Canada News »

• odds are they were encouraged to do so by the empire.

  1 month ago 1 reply View »

• 4 comments from 4 members total