Truest statement of the week

For several years Dr. King and his work were lauded and praised to the skies by the US corporate media, he was awarded a Nobel Prize, and enjoyed friendly access to the White House. This was because US ruling circles endorsed the dismantling of southern Jim Crow as necessary to America’s image around the world and its conflict with the Soviet Union, which was actively aiding liberation movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But in April 1967 Dr. King directly, explicitly and unmistakably confronted and denounced the current genocidal US war in Vietnam, which would eventually kill 3 million Vietnamese.
King accurately predicted further US colonial wars in Asia, Africa and the Americas in the coming decades, and observed that economic and social justice inside the US were unobtainable amid the wars needed to preserve US global empire. Instantly the entire apparatus of US media turned upon him, and from one of the most admired Americans he became one of the most despised. As Cornel West observes, most of the institutions and people writing checks and commemorating his death this week would not allow the Dr. King of his final year, or a Dr. King of today at their podiums, their pulpits or on their airwaves.

-- Bruce A. Dixon, "Another MLK Anniversary, Another Gaza Massacre Ignored by the Black Political Class" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).

Truest statement of the week II

On March 30, 2018 the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) committed cold-blooded murder in Gaza. Thousands of unarmed Palestinians marched peacefully to protest the occupation and declare their right to return to their homeland. The Great Return March was met with gunfire and 18 people died.
The killings were caught on camera but the response from the United States, its allies and their friends in corporate media reveal as much as any photography ever will. The massacre was either disappeared as if it never took place, or was described as a “clash.” The BBC, CNN, the New York Times and the rest of their cohort used this word which implies some equality in defense capability when one side, the one with the dead people, was completely unarmed.

The media covered up for Washington’s friends and politicians were silent. Bernie Sanders’ mealy mouthed response was one of the few to be heard. He called the shootings “tragic” and said that the IDF “over reacted.” Crediting him with these weasel words is damning with faint praise but this minimal response is not surprising given the degree of Israeli influence in American politics.

-- Margaret Kimberley, "Freedom Rider: Israeli Meddling and Palestinian Death" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).

A note to our readers

Hey --

We didn't make Sunday.


Let's thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen, Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

And what did we come up with?

• Truest statement of the week

Bruce A. Dixon gets a truest.

• Truest statement of the week II

As does Margaret Kimberley.

• Editorial: Let's all learn this time

The Iraq War continues after 15 years and now they want to start a war with Syria?

• TV: The plodding and the scintillating

Ava and C.I. take on KRYPTON and KILLING EVE.

• From The TESR Test Kitchen

This truly was the worst product we've ever taken into the test kitchen.

• 10 To Read (C.I.)

C.I. comes up with 10 reads for this new feature.

• 10 To Read (Jim)

And I (Jim) come up with another ten.

• Ty's Corner

Ty's corner.  An e-mail shouldn't turn into a research project.

• Those other THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW sites?

We had no idea.

• Read a book?

We'll keep updating this list throughout the year.

• This edition's playlist

What we listened to while writing.

• Highlights

A look at the week's best.

See you next week.

Peace,





-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.

Editorial: Let's all learn this time

The Iraq War continues.  And despite this, the War Crazies in the US have the bloodlust again and want to destroy Syria.

1. Tucker Carlson‏Verified account @TuckerCarlson 4h4 hours ago
   

   Assume Assad used chlorine gas. Is it worth starting a war? Overthrowing Assad results in chaos. Thousands die. We might see genocide of one of the last Christian communities in the Mideast. Does it make us safer? Region more stable? How’d regime change in Iraq & Libya end up?

   2,026 replies5,209 retweets13,497 likes

   
   

   
   
2. هاني العلّاف‏ @TheAngrySyrian 3h3 hours ago
   

   DONT YOU F**KING DARE BE QUIET ABOUT THE US’S PLANS ON ATTACKING SYRIA. They said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and they destroyed the beautiful capital. Where the fuck is the proof Assad used chemical weapons & WHY TF WOULD HE?! SYRIA IS IN DANGER FUCK YOU ALL

   14 replies95 retweets186 likes

   
   

   
   

1. J Burton‏ @JBurtonXP 3h3 hours ago
   

   Iraq and Libya are hellscapes. We're approaching seventeen years—seventeen YEARS—in Afghanistan with no end in sight. Sure, let's fight in Syria too while we're at it.

   34 replies261 retweets748 likes

   
   

   
   
2. Zahra‏ @_zahra313 18h18 hours ago
   

   They lied to you about Iraq. They lied to you about Iran. They lied to you about Palestine. They lied to you about Yemen. And now they’re doing it again, they’re lying to you about Syria.

   6 replies54 retweets116 likes

   
   

   
   
3. a c c e l e r a t e‏ @ideoautiste Apr 8
   

   My uncle Chris proudly served our country in Iraq and at home as law enforcement. He says NO to war in Syria #HandsOffSyria

   

   6 replies54 retweets216 likes

   
   

   
   

Robby Soave‏Verified account @robbysoave 3h3 hours ago

Syria: If you liked the Iraq and Libya debacles but would have preferred less legal/strategic justification, and also you get a thrill from boldly ignoring hindsight, this war is for you!

3 replies99 retweets226 likes

 🇵🇷EnemigoDelEstado 🇵🇷‏ @_DeleteTheElite 16h16 hours ago

The United States Government lied about: -Vietnam -Afghanistan -Iraq -Libya Think twice before you start believing what Uncle Sam & his political Corporate swine are saying about Syria.

4 replies37 retweets60 likes

1. Margaret Kimberley‏ @freedomrideblog Apr 8
   

   A few thoughts before I cram to get work done tonight. 1. Skripal poisoning part of Syria false flag 2. One month ago French Government warned citizens to leave 3. Terrorists kidnap and kill hostages to make the case for war 4. Skripals are hostages of British government

   1 reply13 retweets31 likes

   
   

   
   

Sarah Abdallah‏ @sahouraxo 6h6 hours ago

US Says No Evidence Syria’s Assad Behind Chemical Attack; But Will Retaliate Regardless Of UN Decision

52 replies271 retweets283 likes

The Iraq War continues.  The biggest foreign policy disaster of the 21st century.

We've all learned enough -- or should have -- to be skeptical of 'claims' that have no support but are fear based.

We should all demand no further war on Syria until someone steps forward with actual proof.  But, thing is, they will never have actual proof because it's highly unlikely Bashar Assad did this -- it doesn't pass the logic test.

Much more likely?

As Patrick Martin (WSWS) points out:


The US media has seized on the latest claims by CIA-backed groups of a poison gas attack on civilians to demand a further escalation of the US-led war for regime-change in Syria and an increased confrontation with Russia.
The Syrian government claims that one of its airbases, in Homs province, has already come under missile attack. While the Pentagon is denying that it has launched any strikes on Syria yet, the rhetoric of the Trump administration indicates that preparations are being made for stepped-up military operations.
As with previous allegations of chemical weapons’ use, the public is being inundated with unverified footage of suffering victims, while government officials and the corporate media, prior to any investigation and without any substantiation, declare the government of Bashar al-Assad and its Iranian and Russian allies to be guilty of a war crime.
Within minutes, the New York Times and the Washington Post dashed out breathless articles placing the blame for the alleged attack at the feet of the Syrian and Russian governments. The Guardian declared in an editorial that “Syria’s renewed use of chemical weapons against its own people at the weekend is shameless and barbaric.”
The current claims are no more credible than those that preceded them. The official narrative that Assad carried out a gas attack in Eastern Ghouta in 2013 was used to prepare a massive US air strike that was canceled at the last minute by the Obama administration—a retreat that earned Obama furious recriminations that continue to the present. Subsequent investigations proved that the attack was actually launched by US-backed “rebels” in conjunction with the Turkish government.
The alleged gas attack that was used in April 2017 to justify the major US cruise missile assault on a Syrian air base was similarly exposed to have resulted from an air strike on a “rebel” poison gas facility.

The previous pretexts for military escalation were staged by the CIA and its proxy forces in Syria. The latest provocation is no different.



xx