MEDIA ROOTS – On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin highlights Matt Heineman as a hero for removing partisanship from the healthcare debate in America with his documentary Escape Fire. Abby then calls out Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers for attempting to bring back a CISPA-esque cyber-legislation.
RT’s Capital Account, Lauren Lyster, discusses the austerity protests across Europe, and Alexa O-brien, plaintiff and activist against the NDAA’s indefinite detention provision, speaks out about her personal experience fighting the government against unlawful detention.
BTS wraps up the show by taking a look at who Alfred Nobel was and highlights a few of the most controversial Americans to have received the coveted Nobel Peace prize.
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Nobel Mass Murder Club, Congress to Rethink CISPA, US Healthcare Sucks, Riots in Greece, NDAA Plaintiff Speaks Out.
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Tune in from 6-6:30 or 9-9:30 EST M-F on your local cable station
“I don’t ‘support Obama.’” Ellsberg clarified in an opinion article last Thursday. “I oppose the current Republican Party.” Echoing the recent words of Professor Noam Chomsky, he adds, “if I were a person in a swing state, I’d vote against Romney/Ryan, which means voting for Obama because there’s no other choice.” While this may have been sound advice of yesteryear, today this is simply forfeiture to the modern political duopoly funded by nearly identical corporate entities.
Ellsberg then continues to preach that “the only way for progressives and Democrats to block Romney from office, at this date, is to persuade enough people in swing states to vote for Obama.” While also ironic, this statement is alienating to all progressives who do not consider themselves Democrat. For instance, the majority of those whom continue to support Dr. Ron Paul would likely consider themselves progressives for the congressman’s continued stance against undeclared wars and the unconstitutional Federal Reserve Bank. And as President Obama continues to escalate Bush-era policy, it is puzzling to understand how his administration could be considered progressive in the first place.
To further discourage third-party voters, Ellsberg specifically calls out those in swing states that might be considering a vote for anyone but Obama or Romney. He considers it absurd for anyone residing in these states to think that there’s no difference between the two primary candidates and that this line of thinking is “crazily divorced from present reality.” A third-party vote in a swing state, he contends, is “complicit in facilitating the election of Romney and Ryan.” Ellsberg neglects to recognize that third-party votes in these very battleground states would actually underscore America’s current appetite for new political leadership in this country.
Sometimes things must get worse before they can get better.
The Ellsberg article closes with a reference to one of America’s greatest resisters, Henry David Thoreau. While voting is itself an action, engagement in the electoral process – from private discussion to public outreach – is ultimately of more influence. So when Mr. Ellsberg could have used his influence to publicly support the third-party candidate that he’s voting for, he instead published an item that merely continues to feed into the establishment’s two-party system for continued war, continued unlawful detentions, and continued criminal conduct.
If Governor Romney does end up switching titles, perhaps then America will witness the antiwar movement awaken from its current slumber or, at least, an Occupy Wall Street renaissance. Possibly then those whom already see through the two-party charade could start to make an impression on yesterday’s thinkers while inspiring tomorrow’s leaders. But what is certain is that only when the two-party paradigm is shattered will America witness the dawn of a new political landscape.
MEDIA ROOTS – On this episode of Breaking the Set: Abby Martin talks about Obama’s kill list, which one official has called a macabre “baseball card” set of alleged “terrorists”; Andy Roth, Associate Director of Project Censored, talks about the danger of Obama’s drone wars on the year anniversary of the drone assassination that killed Anwar al-Aulaqi and his teenage son, both of which were American citizens.
Former CNN Investigative Reporter, Amber Lyon, discusses CNN’s corrupt media empire, calling into question a media establishment where censorship can be bought; BTS wraps up with a look at the upcoming elections in Venezuela, highlighting the successes and controversies that have led to this critical election.
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Record deaths by UAVs makes Obama “Drone King,” CNN paid by government of Bahrain to spread propaganda.
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Tune in from 6-6:30 or 9-9:30 EST M-F on your local cable station
MEDIA ROOTS – While it may be popular to blame George W. Bush for the terror war, it is actually President Obama who has escalated drone warfare from 45 strikes when he assumed office to an additional 292 strikes as of last month. This is in large part due to the relaxed standards this president has set with strikes occurring not just for specific (alleged) combatants but now include targets that merely appear to fit certain criteria.
To date, the office of the president has now approved of more slaughter from drones than the total number of victims on 9/11. The fear that once settled in America’s hearts following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon – attacks that were supposedly executed by manned aerial vehicles – hardly compare to the terror that Pakistanis now suffer from the unmanned drones. And while America is not officially at war with Pakistan, 74% of Pakistanis now consider the United States an enemy, according to a report released last week titled Living Under Drones. But why is this genocide continuing with virtually no outcry from the American citizenry?
No compassion, no coverage
The latest drone strike occurred just yesterday in Yemen. Military officials claim that four al-Qaeda militants were killed in the strike but there is simply no way to verify if this information is accurate. Virtually no American news agency covered the event and even fewer media outlets questioned authorities on its legitimacy.
The separation of general society from the terror war is comparable to the president and his weekly kill list or drone operators and their targets. As the war on terror enters its twelfth year on Sunday, almost no corporate media outlet deems this historical mark worthy of reflection thus continuing to alienate Americans from the horrors that are taking place daily in their name.
The president advises drone operators that potential combatants are men of military age – between 18 and 65 – and supports targeting them for assassination from the comfort of armchairs thousands of miles away. Additionally, anyone rushing to the aid of these victims is immediately considered a suspected terrorist and is frequently targeted just seconds later. The result has been the creation of dysfunctional societies that not only fear the skies but also helping one’s neighbor.
“What is absolutely true is that my first job, my most sacred duty as president and commander-in-chief, is to keep America safe,” President Obama explained in an interview last month. But a much more dangerous precedent is now taking place. David Kilcullen, a former adviser to General Patraeus, explained that for “every one of these dead noncombatants represents an alienated family, a new desire for revenge, and more recruits for a militant movement.”
Several American antiwar activists, including some from the women’s group Code Pink, are now on the ground in Islamabad in preparation for a march to northwest Pakistan that starts tomorrow. They are marching in protest of the seemingly unending barrage of drone-strikes in the region and are led by Imran Khan, a Pakistani official known for his days as one of the nation’s top cricket players.
No end in sight
These crimes against humanity are staggering. But the general tolerance for these crimes by the American electorate is what is of particular concern. How many times must this president murder children before other parents stand up? And will voters actually re-elect such an evil administration that is only perpetuating this terror war? With President Obama and Governor Romney leading in the polls, the outcome appears inevitable.
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Oskar Mosco for Media Roots.
Photo provided by Flickr user Jayel Aheram.
Living Under Drones is a video published by Brave New Foundation that highlights
a recent report that explains how drone warfare is terrorizing civilian populations.
MEDIA ROOTS – Abby and Robbie Martin talk about how the Obama administration promised to prosecute and investigate all illegal acts that happened during the Bush administration then reversed that promise after they cut a deal. The irony of how Nixon’s pardon was less offensive than Obama’s under the radar ceasing of any ongoing investigation into war crimes is discussed. They also discuss Abby’s new live TV show ‘Breaking the Set’ which has been going for almost a month after it’s premiere on RT America.
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MEDIA ROOTS – On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin highlights Matt Heineman as a hero for removing partisanship from the healthcare debate in America with his documentary Escape Fire. Abby then calls out Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers for attempting to bring back a CISPA-esque cyber-legislation.
MEDIA ROOTS – Daniel Ellsberg is 
MEDIA ROOTS – While it may be popular to blame George W. Bush for the terror war, it is actually President Obama who has escalated drone warfare from 45 strikes when he assumed office to an additional 292 strikes as of last month. This is in large part due to the relaxed standards this president has set with strikes occurring not just for specific (alleged) combatants but now include targets that merely appear to fit certain criteria.