Articles by: Ron Forthofer

Suppression of contrarian voices

Suppression of contrarian voices

In the US, we proudly point to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights that was adopted in 1791: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government[Read More…]

by 22/09/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Sixteen children aged 18 and under were killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza over the past three days. Twelve are pictured here; the three without photos, all siblings, died in the Al-Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza. The 16th child died in the hospital late Monday of wounds received earlier, and has not yet been named.

US hypocrisy and Israeli crimes

Many people were surprised and outraged when US President Biden recently fist bumped Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. After all, as a candidate, Biden pledged to make the Saudi kingdom a pariah since the Crown Prince had been directly linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In contrast, consider the relative lack of outrage to Biden’s statement after[Read More…]

by 21/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Lessons from recent US history

Lessons from recent US history

For much of the period since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the US was politically, militarily and economically unchallenged. The US was now the world’s hegemon and, to remain dominant, it couldn’t allow powerful challengers to arise. This goal meant that the US viewed the relationship with nations such as Russia and China as a zero-sum game, thus reducing[Read More…]

by 29/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Exorbitant military spending sacrifices public well-being

Exorbitant military spending sacrifices public well-being

President Dwight Eisenhower gave his first major presidential speech, The Cross of Iron, on April 16, 1953. He laid out several important precepts guiding US conduct in world affairs as well pointing out the cost of military spending in very concrete terms. Eisenhower stated: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense,[Read More…]

by 01/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Who needs a hegemon?

Who needs a hegemon?

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the US has been able to exert tremendous influence on other nations through its military and economic power. The world no longer was bipolar with the US and the Soviet Union competing for leadership. Instead, it has been a unipolar world under US hegemonic leadership. In 1997, US[Read More…]

by 06/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Cooperation, not competition, to avoid disaster

Cooperation, not competition, to avoid disaster

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US was unrivaled as a superpower. During the 1990s and, until about 2012, the US was relatively unconstrained in its use of military power in an attempt to get its way. However, often the use of military power was counterproductive. More importantly, the US frequently violated international law through its military interventions[Read More…]

by 15/04/2022 Comments are Disabled World
War is still hell

War is still hell

 Around 2000 years ago Seneca the Younger said: “We are mad not only individually but nationally. We check manslaughter and isolated murders, but what of war and the much vaunted crime of slaughtering whole peoples?” In 1880, General William Tecumseh Sherman said: “There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but boys, it is[Read More…]

by 25/03/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Media coverage of Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine

Media coverage of Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine

  The recent appalling Russian invasion of Ukraine must be condemned. It’s yet another atrocious aggression in a long series of violations of international law by several countries including the US, Britain, Russia and Israel. It is terribly disappointing that humanity has failed to advance beyond the use of warfare (military, economic and cyber) to settle problems. Lobbying by the[Read More…]

by 05/03/2022 1 comment World
US corporate media and Israel

US corporate media and Israel

Israel is greatly concerned about the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) effort that seeks: 1) to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians; and 2) to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Israel claims that this campaign is a threat to its legitimacy. Unsurprisingly, Israel doesn’t want to acknowledge that it is its own repeated flouting of[Read More…]

by 05/02/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
The US enables criminal Israeli behavior

The US enables criminal Israeli behavior

Given all the attention focused on the covid-19 pandemic, the Build Back Better bill, the January 6th attack on the Capitol and the media-hyped crises over Ukraine and Taiwan this past year, many other important issues have not received much attention. One example is the Palestinian/Israeli situation. Views of Israel There have been some major breakthroughs in the perception of[Read More…]

by 15/01/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
 Failure of US media on Ukraine

 Failure of US media on Ukraine

We need to constantly remind ourselves about the US media. During the Cold War, there was the saying that the difference between the New York Times and the Soviet Pravda was that Pravda readers knew they were being lied to. Unfortunately, current coverage by the US media about the movement of Russian troops demonstrates the applicability of that saying today. Lies by Omission For example,[Read More…]

by 24/12/2021 Comments are Disabled World
US past and present

US past and present

Recently there has been much discussion about the teaching of US history. In the past and perhaps slightly less so in the present, the full story of our history and of the founding fathers hasn’t been presented. The founders’ inspirational and impressive accomplishments have been highlighted. The fact that many of the founders were slave owners was downplayed or ignored.[Read More…]

by 22/11/2021 Comments are Disabled World
US politics: we need a transformation

US politics: we need a transformation

 As if we needed any more evidence of the sorry state of our political system, the long-running battle over the ‘Build Back Better’ bill has provided it. As Senator Bernie Sanders pointed out, an early version of this bill included many proposals that would help Americans live with a sense of security. In addition, these proposals were strongly supported by[Read More…]

by 15/11/2021 Comments are Disabled World
US undercuts the rules-based order

US undercuts the rules-based order

The US has been targeting China by expressing a concern that China does not or will not act according to a ‘rules-based’ order. This column examines how well the US follows the rules, especially international laws, it played a key role in developing. For example, two key articles in the United Nations Charter stress the importance of non-intervention. UN Charter[Read More…]

by 29/10/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Millions of Afghans have been displaced by the war. Photo: MikrofonNews

Afghanistan and the US corporate media

The Taliban’s lightning fast takeover of Afghanistan was amazingly achieved with relatively little killing and bloodshed. Since the rout of the government, an entity essentially installed by the US, the Taliban has been assuring the Afghan people that its governance style will be more moderate than under its previous rule. Many people in Afghanistan are very fearful and particularly skeptical[Read More…]

by 04/09/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The sad saga continues: occupation and oppression of Palestinians

The sad saga continues: occupation and oppression of Palestinians

Here we go again with yet another deadly and devastating Israeli military attack on Gaza that has captured the world’s attention. However, this current crisis is notably different in scope from the numerous previous major Israeli war crimes against Gaza. This time there was already ongoing Palestinian resistance to Israeli provocations and violence in occupied East Jerusalem including the egregious[Read More…]

by 20/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Reimagining US foreign policy

Reimagining US foreign policy

Since the end of WWII, especially since the breakup of the Soviet Union, it appears as if US political leaders feel they are trapped in a time warp and are unable to break free. They seem to believe that they must repeat the same disastrous foreign policy of regime change over and over. Since 9/11, the US has attacked or[Read More…]

by 31/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
A New U.S. Foreign Policy

A New U.S. Foreign Policy

President Biden has inherited a terribly flawed US foreign policy. For the past few decades, the pro-corporate US foreign policy has been a catastrophic failure, especially in the Middle East. Our criminal military interventions there have resulted in the devastation of much of that area, impoverished millions, created millions of refugees, and injured or killed millions more. Moreover, this criminal[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Insanity reigns — the US, Israel and Iran

Insanity reigns — the US, Israel and Iran

All too often, events occur that make me feel that I am living in ‘Bizarro World’. The recent talk and extensive US corporate media coverage about whether or not the US and/or Israel will soon attack Iran is one of these occasions. The alleged rationale for such an attack is the possibility that Iran might pursue the development of a[Read More…]

by 03/12/2020 Comments are Disabled World
The future is in our hands

The future is in our hands

The election is now over and Joe Biden is the President-elect. What is likely to happen after Biden is inaugurated? The incoming Biden administration will face numerous huge problems left behind by the Trump administration. It is likely that Covid-19 will still be a major concern here and in many other nations around the world. President Biden will also have[Read More…]

by 15/11/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Covid-19: past, present and future

Covid-19: past, present and future

The current pandemic continues to have a large negative impact on most aspects of our lives. Over 20.6 million have been infected and almost 750,000 have died worldwide (about 5.3 million infections and over 168,000 deaths in the US) due to this pandemic. Besides these horrific impacts, this pandemic has also made clearer the failure of the bipartisan neoliberal economic[Read More…]

by 14/08/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Deja vu: another bail out for banks and other giant corporations

Deja vu: another bail out for banks and other giant corporations

The name of the latest enormous transfer of wealth to the one percent, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, represents a public relations coup. Unsurprisingly, this great sounding title misrepresents the bill’s contents. Pattern of transferring wealth upward Unfortunately, this bill is essentially a repeat of the bailout of Wall Street during the Great Recession that further[Read More…]

by 27/04/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Palestinian rights and Western duplicity

Palestinian rights and Western duplicity

President Trump’s fraudulent Middle East deal runs roughshod over Palestinian rights, harms long-term Israeli interests, and is only the latest example of the US arrogance and disdain for international law. Essentially Trump’s offer, negotiated without any Palestinian input, requires the Palestinians to sell out their hopes for justice and a decent life free of occupation for money. Trump was attempting[Read More…]

by 08/02/2020 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Is the US a civilized nation?

Is the US a civilized nation?

The title of this piece may seem stupid to many. They would respond that obviously the US is civilized. After all, we have a highly developed society and culture which is a definition of civilized. In addition, as a sign of our culture, they proudly point to our museums, theaters, and symphonies that, along with our colleges and universities, are[Read More…]

by 04/01/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Proposed withdrawal of US troops in Syria

Proposed withdrawal of US troops in Syria

President Trump has stated his intent to withdraw US troops from Syria on several occasions since March 2018. Each time politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties, supported by the corporate-controlled media, have, based on US imperial interests, vehemently challenged the withdrawal proposal. These folks also based their opposition to withdrawal on their supposed concerns for the Syrian Kurds.[Read More…]

by 02/11/2019 Comments are Disabled World
Sick of being a guinea pig

Sick of being a guinea pig

Some corporations and governments have used the US public as guinea pigs in uncontrolled experiments conducted without the public’s approval. They were often gambling with our well being when they introduced new products or conducted risky tests. In contrast, there were usually few risks for the CEOs or government officials in charge of these unacknowledged experiments. If serious harm occurred,[Read More…]

by 21/08/2019 Comments are Disabled World
 The Venezuelan Coup: A Media Success?

 The Venezuelan Coup: A Media Success?

The focus is now on Venezuela, but the US is really the key actor in this long-running drama. In reality, Venezuela is simply another repeat victim in the US centuries-long imperial campaign that began with the genocide of American Indians. Ever since then, and particularly since WWII, the US has pursued an expansive and aggressive foreign policy. William Blum, a[Read More…]

by 16/02/2019 1 comment World
Homelessness, corporate welfare and priorities

Homelessness, corporate welfare and priorities

The homelessness issue has been a source of controversy at the local, state and national levels for some time now. There has been some limited progress, but this problem has certainly not been resolved humanely. Sometimes lost in the debate about this issue is that the homeless are fellow human beings, including families with children, and most of them really[Read More…]

by 29/11/2018 1 comment World
Iran, sanctions and moral authority

Iran, sanctions and moral authority

For over two decades, US neo-cons have been pushing for an attack on Iran on the pretext that it was developing nuclear weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been a key player in this effort, exerting as much pressure as he and the Israeli lobby can for an US attack. Netanyahu also often threatens that Israel might attack Iran. Note[Read More…]

by 04/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Separation and killing of children

Separation and killing of children

President Trump’s cruel policy of separating immigrant children from their parents as they sought asylum here mocked the idea that the US government values families. Unfortunately the US has a long and sad history of separating children from their parents. For example, the US took American-Indian children from their parents and Black slave families were often torn apart. Fortunately the[Read More…]

by 24/06/2018 1 comment Human Rights
U.S. Mainstream Media: Empire’s Tool

U.S. Mainstream Media: Empire’s Tool

  The U.S. mainstream media has an important role to play as the fourth estate. Sometimes it does an excellent job of informing the public on issues, particularly on many social issues. However, the mainstream media long ago abrogated its responsibility of accurately informing the public about U.S. foreign policy. Instead it has become a tool to advance the interests[Read More…]

by 03/03/2018 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Photo by karen H. nickname.{ pooh}

Peace And justice On Earth And Goodwill To All

Unfortunately, the hope for peace and justice on earth and goodwill to all seems to be receding with each passing year. US politicians, particularly the neo-cons and neo-libs in Washington DC, seem to respond with a bah, humbug to this desire. These neo-folks, like other Americans, are people who have not directly experienced the ravages, destruction and killing of war[Read More…]

by 20/12/2017 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The First Nine Months Of Donald Trump’s Presidency

The First Nine Months Of Donald Trump’s Presidency

  For the past nine months, we have seen widespread attacks on the common good. The latest assault is the Republicans’ proposed tax reform, a huge transfer of wealth to the richest one-tenth of one percent. This legislation would also greatly increase the national debt, supposedly a major red line for Republicans. In addition, President Trump continues to: 1) slow[Read More…]

by 09/11/2017 1 comment World
Insane Policy Towards North Korea

Insane Policy Towards North Korea

  This year we commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the unjustifiable US use of nuclear weapons against civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those two attacks demonstrated the horrific power of the atomic bomb, a bomb that is tiny in comparison to the nuclear weapons available today. Here are a few quotes that are worth pondering as we now face an[Read More…]

by 02/08/2017 1 comment Imperialism
Threat To Free Speech

Threat To Free Speech

  There is a Senate bill, along with a companion bill in the House, working its way through Congress with strong bipartisan support, that poses a significant danger to free speech. One would think this bill would be a big deal but, surprisingly, the bill has not received much coverage in the mainstream media. Fortunately the American Civil Liberties Union[Read More…]

by 27/07/2017 1 comment World
USS Liberty: Little-Known Tale Of Betrayal And Cover Up

USS Liberty: Little-Known Tale Of Betrayal And Cover Up

  This column is about events so counterintuitive that Hollywood would reject the plot as being too unbelievable. Fifty years ago on June 8th, another nation intentionally attacked a U.S. Navy ship in international waters, and the U.S. didn’t respond. The attack The lightly-armed intelligence-gathering U.S. ship was under close observation for at least six hours before an air attack[Read More…]

by 07/06/2017 3 comments World
War And Propaganda

War And Propaganda

  The U.S. has been at war throughout much of its history. Some wars were blatantly wars of conquest, e.g., the Indian Wars (the near genocide of Native Americans) and the Mexican-American War. Whatever the real reasons for our military actions, they were usually sold to the public as being defensive in nature and this practice still goes on. Some[Read More…]

by 29/03/2017 1 comment Imperialism
Wakeup Call

Wakeup Call

People early on learn the Golden Rule, essentially to treat others (regardless of differences) as you wish to be treated. This idea is found in many religions as well. For example, love and compassion, not hatred and coldness, are a key part of Jesus’ teachings as well as part of other religions. The outcome of the recent election has served[Read More…]

by 30/12/2016 1 comment Human Rights
Hiroshima – Nagasaki And U.S. Mythology

Hiroshima – Nagasaki And U.S. Mythology

The U.S. public has been kept in the dark or misled about foreign policy for much of our history. For example, as we commemorate the 71st anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let’s re-examine the myth of necessity of those barbaric acts. The myth that just won’t die and is believed by most Americans is[Read More…]

by 07/08/2016 2 comments World
NATO Provocation Of Russia: The Political Establishment’s Hubris

NATO Provocation Of Russia: The Political Establishment’s Hubris

  There are dangerous provocations along Russia’s western border that have received little or incredibly one-sided coverage by the U.S. media. Thus the U.S. public is not aware of the possibility of a major conflict between two nuclear-armed powers occurring due to an accident or misinterpretation. The genesis of this current situation goes back in ancient history to 1989 and[Read More…]

by 21/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Imperialism