U.S. Tries to Bully Iran Into Submission
Iran poses no threat to the world, said David Swanson, publisher of WarIsACrime.org. The real “source of tension” with Washington is that “Iran, since its revolution, has insisted on remaining independent of U.S. control. The Pentagon wants an Iran that cannot strike back” if it is attacked by the U.S. or Israel.
Obamacare Provides “Inferior” Protection
President Obama’s health care law is “an agreement between the federal government and big business” that “doesn’t protect Americans from bankruptcy and premature death,” said Dr. Reginald Clark, a health issues scholar who lectures at California State University, in Los Angeles. Most people will only be able to afford “inferior” levels of federally mandated health care coverage, he said.
U.S. Election Duopoly
“Both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are deep in the pocket of ‘clean coal,’ as they are in the pockets of Big Ag, Big Insurance, military contractors, Wall Street and other centers of real power,” said BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon. For a progressive analysis of the debates between the two business parties, go to www.occupythedebates.org, beginning October 3.
Federal Employees’ Due Process Rights Threatened
Provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act pending before Congress would allow judges on federal workplace boards to deny due process to employees that complain of discrimination, said worker rights activist Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo. “This really does harken back to Jim Crow, when our cases were considered amusement for the Bubba crowd,” said Coleman-Adebayo, whose battle against discrimination at the Environmental Protection Agency led to passage of the NO FEAR whistleblower protection legislation, in 2002.
Paramilitaries on the Rise in Haiti
With the encouragement of the U.S.-backed government, paramilitaries are occupying 20 former Haitian Army bases, according to Jeb Sprague, author of Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti. The militiamen want to become part of a new national military. The U.S. also favors bringing back the Haitian Army, which was disbanded under deposed president Jean Bertrand Aristide. “They want it there in place if the UN force eventually leaves, to beat down the people,” said Sprague.
Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: One hour.
Rather than benevolent protector, the state enables and often perpetuates violence against marginalized communities, criminalizing them.
The racism of the larger society is internalized in us, including those of us who are Black and brown, and must be methodically confronted.
Incarcerated people are limited to pushing prison reform, while the unincarcerated have the privilege to advocate abolition.
“It’s a war against the prisoners, but also a war against knowledge and, ultimately, the Constitution, itself,” said Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, ch
