Agreements Washington makes aren't worth the paper they're written on. US supported death squads celebrated being named Syria's representative. Conditions are no better for beleaguered Palestinians. Israel waged war on them for decades. Daily crimes of war, against humanity, and slow-motion genocide continue.

From: www.gegenstandpunkt.com

Selon la décision du législateur moderne, contraignante dans la pratique, le « Peuple » n’est rien de plus que l’ensemble des habitants d’un pays que l’Autorité étatique compétente déclare comme faisant partie intégrante d’elle-même.

By ERIC BAILEY - Counterpunch

"Obama’s policies have been approximately the same as Bush’s...The Democrats supported Bush’s policies. There were some objections on mostly partisan grounds, but for the most part, they supported his policies and it’s not surprising that they have continued to do so. In some respects Obama has gone even beyond Bush."

By Michael Laxer - December 8, 2012

Wal-Mart is "so confident in our low prices, we guarantee them"...Ever wonder how they do it?...[They] have sourced all of their purchasing from factories in the Third World that can produce certain goods more cheaply than they could be produced in North America...But this fixation on the bottom line is even more deadly and crass than many consumers would have assumed. It turns out that, when given the chance, Wal-Mart directly refused to pay for a plan to make fire safety improvements in the factories that it gets its clothing from, as it would have cost them money.

Europe saves – on the livelihoods of its citizens. The democratic European governments make the lives of their peoples liable for their economies growing too slow and the loss of the creditworthiness of their nations. That’s why the responsible state leaders have prescribed for their citizens an immense package of cuts in social programs. The aggrieved speak up and protest. It is overdue that they do so. Only: how?

By John Pilger - December 05, 2012

The bombing of civilian targets in Libya in 2011 was often deliberate and included the main water supply facility that provided water to 70 per cent of the population. In Afghanistan, the murder of 16 unarmed civilians, including children, attributed to one rogue US soldier, was actually committed by “multiple” soldiers, and covered up. In Syria, the US, Britain and France are funding and arming the icon of terrorism, al-Qaida. In Latin America, one US bank has laundered $378bn. in drug money.

By JEAN BRICMONT - December 04, 2012

The fundamental ambiguity of the anti-anti-war left lies in the question as to who are the “we” who are supposed to intervene and protect...Intervening means intervening militarily and for that, one needs the appropriate military means. It is perfectly obvious that the Western left does not possess those means...So in reality the actual message of the anti-anti-war left is: “Please, oh Americans, make war not love!” Better still...[as] the Americans are leery of sending in ground troops, the message amounts to nothing other than asking the U.S. Air Force to go bomb countries where human rights violations are reported to be taking place.

Countries voting no included America, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, Panama, and four small Pacific island states: Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau. They're in lockstep with all US/Israeli policies. They spurn Palestinian rights.

By BRUCE E. LEVINE - Counterpunch Weekend Edition

While Sylvia Plath and Ernest Hemingway received extensive medical treatment for depression but tragically committed suicide, other famously depressed people — including Abraham Lincoln, William James, Georgia O’Keeffe, Sigmund Freud, William Tecumseh Sherman, Franz Kafka, and the Buddha — have taken different paths. Did those luminaries who took alternative paths and recovered really have the symptoms of major depression, and did their antidotes really work?

Palestine remains locked down and isolated. UN voting changed nothing. Partial or full membership grants no immunity. Israel takes full advantage. That's how rogue states operate. Palestinian suffering continues.

By Derrick O'Keefe - November 29, 2012

What a shameful, embarrassing moment for Canada on the world stage -- unfortunately this is par-for-the-course under the Harper government. No matter how [Foreign Minister John] Baird spins it, this government is increasingly isolated in its extremist pro-Israeli stance...Make no mistake, this vote is also a personal defeat for Harper, who has positioned Canada as the Israeli government's "best friend..."

By Bill Van Auken - WSWS

The right-wing Zionist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued the go-ahead for the construction of 3,000 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and is putting 1,000 more on a fast track for permits. These moves are in retaliation for the United Nations General Assembly vote late Thursday night recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as a nonmember state.

By Julian Assange - Friday, November 30, 2012

In his most extended interview in months, Julian Assange speaks to Democracy Now! from inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has been holed up for nearly six months. Assange vowed WikiLeaks would persevere despite attacks against it.

From November 28 - December 1, Porto Alegre, Brazil hosts the WSF Free Palestine (WSFFP).

By DAVE LINDORFF - Counterpunch

One thing is clear: it is dangerous in the extreme to be a journalist covering America’s wars, at least beginning with Vietnam...Why this might be the case is hard to say, but it seems that an antipathy towards journalists within the military may have something to do with it.