In a
previous article,
I suggested reading active writers in the alternative media. I've
chosen some of those writers’ cogent and stimulating reflections on
current events.
On the establishment press: "It's not news that establishment journalists identify with, are
merged into, serve as spokespeople for, the political class: that's what
makes them establishment journalists." – Glenn Greenwald
"They keep telling us that in war truth is the first casualty, which
is nonsense since it implies that in times of peace truth stays out of
the sick bay or the graveyard." – Alexander Cockburn
On international relations: "Classic 19th century European imperialists believed they were
literally on a mission. I don't believe that the imperialists these days
have that same sense of public service. They are simply pirates." –
John Pilger
"Dictators are easier to deal with than parliaments. One handshake and a kickback, that's all you need with a dictator." – Ted Rall
On wars and threats of war: "The sophisticated forms of industrial killing, coupled with the
amoral decisions of politicians and military leaders who direct and fund
war, hide war's reality from public view."– Chris Hedges
“All the major states are still organized for war, and all that is
needed for the world to slide back into a nuclear confrontation is a
twist of the kaleidoscope that shifts international relations into a new
pattern of rival alliances." – Gwynne Dyer
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
– William Blake
On Palestine and Israel: "By caving in to Israel's hard right over the West Bank, Obama sends a
message of profound weakness to the rest of the world. He is signalling
that Israel, not the White House, really makes America's Mideast
policy." – Eric Margolis
"Barack Obama, the US president, whom many hoped would change the
vicious anti-Palestinian policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush,
has instead entrenched them as even the pretence of a serious peace
effort has vanished." – Ali Abunimah
"What makes an Ilan Pappe, brilliant professor, humanist who shed all
his tribal borders and moved to touch his humanity? And what makes an
Ehud Barak, a war criminal with blood of thousands on his hands?" – Mazin Qumsiyeh
On American weakness: "…Most of America will be run by the same people no matter who wins
the election – the oil companies, Wal-Mart, Murdoch, etc. And Obama has
set out not to disrupt their rule but to manage it." – Mark Steele
"The American way of life is not sustainable. It doesn’t acknowledge that there is a world beyond America." – Arundhati Roy
"That [Hillary] Clinton should want her State Department slaves to
play secret agents on the poor old UN shows what an utterly worthless
institution the US State Department has become."– Robert Fisk
On WikiLeaks: "The most uncomfortable truth that emerges from the WikiLeaks saga is
that American public discourse consists of cries for revenge against
those who tell us truths." – Paul Craig Roberts
"NO ONE gives a sh*t about this heroic man [Private Bradley Manning]
who is rotting in Obama's prison cell. Not Assange (who did nothing to
protect him, and does nothing now), nor the left, happy to use his
information, nor the New York Times, which is happy to take the bows for material Manning risked his freedom for." – Greg Palast
The comments here, stimulated by current events, come from an
alternative press with a brilliance and integrity often lacking in the
mainstream media.
