The Economic Crisis and Iran: Regenerating Global Capitalism

CounterPunch

by Ben Schreiner

On February 21, to great media fanfare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 13,000 mark for the first time since the 2008 collapse.  Appearing on NBC’s Today Show the following morning, Jim “Bear Sterns is not in trouble” Cramer jubilantly prophesied “the future is better than the past.”  A more ominous indication of lurking economic peril is perhaps difficult to imagine.

Manufactured Disgust and Imperial Cynicism

Dissident Voice/Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

Since failing to win United Nations Security Council backing for “regime change” in Syria, Washington and its lackeys in the corporate media have been unrelenting in voicing their great moral outrage at both the violence of the Assad regime and the seeming indifference to it all by the likes of Russia and China.  Washington is no doubt long in forgetting those that thwart the will of the “international community.”  After all, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, the “travesty” of the Russian and Chinese veto left the entire Security Council “neutered.” 

Do The Iran Shuffle

Read my article, "Do The Iran Shuffle," in Asia Times Online.

Furnishing War With Iran at Any Cost

Dissident Voice
by Ben Schreiner

It took all of one hour after simultaneous attacks targeted Israeli diplomats on Monday in New Delhi and Tbilisi, Georgia for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conclude his investigation.  As Netanyahu thundered with typical bravado: “Iran is behind these attacks.  It is the biggest exporter of terror in the world.”

War Propaganda's Triumph: U.S. Public Opinion on Iran

Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

 

A recent series of polls gauging U.S. public opinion on Iran and its nuclear program shed light on the enduring strength of the American propaganda machine.

Targeting Iran on a Syrian Battlefield

Read my article, "Targeting Iran on a Syrian Battlefield," in MR Zine.

US Thwarted at the UN: Imperial Ambitions Persevere

Dissident Voice
by Ben Schreiner

To Washington’s great chagrin, the attempt to impose “regime change” in Syria under the auspices of a United Nations Security Council resolution fell apart Saturday, thwarted by the double veto of Russia and China. 

Sacrificing the Truth: The Media and Iran

Dissident Voice
by Ben Schreiner

The isolationist Senator Hiram Johnson once remarked, “The first casualty when war comes is the truth.”  And so, as the West’s “covert war” (or campaign of terror) against Iran continues, drawing military confrontation ever-closer in the process, we find the truth repeatedly sacrificed upon the altar of militarist propaganda.

U.S. Mounts Further Military Build-Up in Persian Gulf

Global Research by Ben Schreiner With the drums of war beating ever louder against Iran, the U.S. military has quickly moved to reestablish a war footing in the Persian Gulf.  The preparations for a looming military confrontation thus continue apace.

Showdown Averted: ILWU and EGT Reach Agreement

Dissident Voice/Intrepid Report
by Ben Schreiner

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the international conglomerate EGT Development came to a tentative agreement on Monday to resolve their long simmering labor dispute.  The agreement was announced in a statement released by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, who convened the discussions that ultimately lead to the settlement.

Obama Set to Use Military Intervention Against Longshoremen: Which Side is Trumka On?

Dissident Voice/Intrepid Report
by Ben Schreiner

A decisive struggle promising to shape the fate of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), West Coast dockworkers, and all organized labor is swiftly nearing a climax in Longview, Washington. 

Within weeks, if not days, the international conglomerate EGT Development will seek to commence operations at its new $200 million export grain terminal at the Port of Longview.  In refusing to use ILWU labor, EGT is breaking the precedent in place since the 1930s, which holds that all public port docks up and down the West Coast are to be worked by the ILWU.

The Bogus Tales of Iran's Nukes

Global Research by Ben Schreiner With seemingly each passing day, the tensions between the US and Iran over the latter’s nascent nuclear program mount.  And with the voices clamoring for conflict growing ever louder, the clouds of war darken.

Afghanistan: What Is Truly Deplorable

Read my article, "Afghanistan: What is truly deplorable," in Asia Times Online.

The Looming Showdown in Longview: 'The ILWU Cannot Lose This Fight'

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice
by Ben Schreiner 

The long-simmering dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the international consortium EGT Development transpiring in Longview, Washington looks to be coming to a head.

The Press Coverage of the War in Afghanistan

Read my article, "Afghanistan: US Press Withdraws," in Asia Times Online.