The NYT Loses Its Editorial Mind

It is time for the mainstream media, particularly the New York Times and the Washington Post, to take advice from Margaret Sullivan, a veteran press critic with both the Times and the Post, and “rededicate itself to being pro-democracy.”  In her new book, “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) From an Ink-Stained Life,” she notes that “as our democratic norms foundered, much of the mainstream press was asleep at the switch, and seemed perfectly content to stay that way.” 

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President Biden and Iran: the Cost of a Missed Opportunity

If the United States wanted to contribute to regional stability in the Middle East and to reduce its own military presence, then it would encourage bilateral negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.  The fact that the current cease-fire in Yemen appears to be holding provides the best opportunity in recent years to encourage a Riyadh-Tehran dialogue.  The United States must stop exaggerating the Iranian threat in the region, which finds Tehran in support of failed states such as Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.  These failed states are virtually meaningless to U.S. national security concerns.

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The “New” Middle East Resembles The Old Middle East

The Biden administration is selling the notion that the “new Middle East” requires U.S. involvement at the highest level, and the mainstream media, particularly the Washington Post and the New York Times, are predictably seconding the motion.  President Joe Biden penned an op-ed for the Post over the weekend to defend his trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia.  The trip is a reminder that Biden’s policies in the region resemble those of Donald Trump.

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Biden Gets a Chance to Get the Refugee Issue Right

The arrival of 100,000 Ukrainians would be one of the largest resettlement operations in U.S. history, but would make only a small dent in view of the ten million displaced Ukrainians.  The Biden administration also announced last week that the 75,000 Ukrainians already in the United States on student, tourist, and business visas would be given temporary humanitarian protection from deportation, which will allow them to apply for work permits.

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Recent News and Latest Book

Two Wars, Five Losing Nations

The United States, complicit in Israel’s genocidal actions and sending conflicting signals regarding Ukraine and Gaza, is also losing in terms of influence and standing.  The international community understands the hypocrisy of the Biden administration that condemns the terrorism of Russia but allows the terrorism of Israel.  The United States has been Israel’s political shield on the global stage for the past 75 years.  A New York Times editorial on Monday continued to support Biden’s most recent veto of a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

CIA’s Torture and Abuse: America’s Shame!

Lawrence Wright, the special counsel who investigated the Iran-contra scandal, concluded that the “failure to punish governmental lawbreakers feeds the perception that public officials are not wholly accountable for their actions.  It also may lead the public to believe that no real wrongdoing took place.”  This certainly applies to all those involved in CIA’s torture program.

Containing the National Security State

Containing the National Security State