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Boston Globe reports:
For three years, violent militants have run Aleppo. Their rule began with a wave of repression. They posted notices warning residents: “Don’t send your children to school. If you do, we will get the backpack and you will get the coffin.” Then they destroyed factories, hoping that unemployed workers would have no recourse other than to become fighters. They trucked looted machinery to Turkey and sold it.
[...] This does not fit with Washington’s narrative. As a result, much of the American press is reporting the opposite of what is actually happening. Many news reports suggest that Aleppo has been a “liberated zone” for three years but is now being pulled back into misery.
Americans are being told that the virtuous course in Syria is to fight the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian partners. We are supposed to hope that a righteous coalition of Americans, Turks, Saudis, Kurds, and the “moderate opposition” will win. This is convoluted nonsense, but Americans cannot be blamed for believing it. We have almost no real information about the combatants, their goals, or their tactics. Much blame for this lies with our media.
[...] Americans are said to be ignorant of the world. We are, but so are people in other countries. If people in Bhutan or Bolivia misunderstand Syria, however, that has no real effect. Our ignorance is more dangerous, because we act on it. The United States has the power to decree the death of nations. It can do so with popular support because many Americans — and many journalists — are content with the official story. In Syria, it is: “Fight Assad, Russia, and Iran! Join with our Turkish, Saudi, and Kurdish friends to support peace!” This is appallingly distant from reality.
(Score: 2) by fnj on Sunday February 28 2016, @06:52PM
The problem with having a global bill of rights is that, if you can have a global bill of rights, you can just as easily get saddled with a global bill of wrongs. It was hard and costly enough kicking the evilness of the British Empire out of the American Colonies and out of India, and taking down the Third Reich, war-worshiping Imperial Japan, and staggeringly repressive Soviet Communism. Can you even imagine trying to take apart a world government gone evil?
There wouldn't just be a serious problem trying to find a better place to retreat to. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to flee it or hide from it.
No, I don't have all the answers. I can't readily come up with something at once both practical, and better than a global bill of rights. I just know I can see some soul-shattering downsides to globalism that evidently a lot of people seem to be blind to.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 28 2016, @08:02PM
You've mentioned several historical oppressors while tap dancing around the major point I was trying to make regarding the world that exists today:
The greatest aggressor nation that ever existed is the USA since September 2, 1945.
Some might even specify the date August 6, 1945.
...and these outrageous levels of overt militarism don't even address the covert Imperialist activities of USA.
So, if this cleansing activity is to be done, wouldn't it make sense to go after the greatest threat to global peace first?
Who among the mice will bell the cat?
Additionally, regarding UN funding, the bulk of which typically falls to the USA, there was a time when USA had a vibrant manufacturing economy and was the top lender nation.
For many many years, USA has had a financialized economy and has been the leading debtor nation.
One more point is that USA has been lax in paying its dues to the UN as a matter of policy--while other nations have also been lax for whatever reasons.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]