Politics

By Brandon Smith

Nearly 20 years ago when I started my work in the independent media the common mantra among my peers was noting the existence of the “false left/right paradigm” – The idea that Democrats and Republicans were essentially the same and were working towards the same exact authoritarian goals. This was before the Ron Paul movement and the libertarian/patriot shift within conservative circles when Neocons (fake conservatives) dominated all Republican discourse.

Most people have absolutely no idea how close we are to a nightmare scenario in the Middle East.  Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that Bloomberg was reporting that an Iranian attack on Israel was “imminent”.  At that time we were waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Middle East, and we are still waiting.  Ynet News is claiming that Iran was “ready to launch its attack on Israel” but had a change of heart before it pulled the trigger…

Julian Assange is very near the end of his appeal process in his effort to prevent his extradition from Great Britain to the United States, where he is set to be prosecuted for making public US government secrets — practicing journalism.

The Vietnam War ended nearly 50 years ago. Still, the killing and maiming is not over. People continue to suffer from and succumb to injuries from the war long past. And others, often people born since the war’s end, are killed or injured by the explosion of some of the many bombs from the war that now clutter Vietnam.

David Lin, in the Monday episode of the David Lin Report, asked libertarian communicator Ron Paul what nations Paul considers top adversaries or competitors internationally, suggesting that World War III could arise from conflict with one of them. In response, Paul replied that it is his own government — that of the United States — he is worried about, not Russia, China, or some other nation.

Here is the exchange between Lin and Paul: