Tag: Exceptionalism

A Misplaced Purity: Democracies and Crimes Against International Law – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Such arguments echo an old trope. The two administrations of George W. Bush spilled much ink in justifying the torture, enforced disappearance and renditions of terror suspects to third countries during its declared Global War on Terror. Lawyers in both the White House and Justice Department gave their professional blessing, adopting an expansive definition of executive power in defiance of international laws and protections. Such sacred documents as the Geneva Conventions could be defied when facing Islamist terrorism.

Lurking beneath such justifications is the snobbery of exceptionalism, the conceit of power. Civilised liberal democracies, when battling the forces of a named barbarism, are to be treated as special cases in the world of international humanitarian law. The ICC prosecutor begs to differ.

 

Source: A Misplaced Purity: Democracies and Crimes Against International Law – » The Australian Independent Media Network

‘The Greatest Fighting Force in Human History’ – The Perpetual Wars You Aren’t Supposed to Notice – scheerpost.com

IIn his message to the troops prior to the July 4th weekend, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin offered high praise indeed. “We have the greatest fighting force in human history,” he tweeted, connecting that claim to the U.S. having patriots of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds “who bravely volunteer to defend our country and our values.”

…… yes, the U.S. military is indeed exceptional and being so, being #1 (or claiming you are anyway) means never having to say you’re sorry, no matter how many innocents you kill or maim, how many lives you disrupt and destroy, how many lies you tell.

Source: ‘The Greatest Fighting Force in Human History’ – The Perpetual Wars You Aren’t Supposed to Notice – scheerpost.com

Who is this bloke Rick Morton and what makes him tick? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

“Morton’s journalism has marked him out as a writer of rare compassion and forensic curiosity, and across his memoirs, he’s applied that to questions of his own capacity and incapacity, and his 2019 diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress …”

Source: Who is this bloke Rick Morton and what makes him tick? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Crown v Shannon: bigwigs off the hook, small fish fried – Michael West

One guy prosecuted for allegedly running a company while bankrupt, ten Crown directors off scot free for washing $70bn through casinos for Chinese Triads, drug and sex traffickers and other assorted criminals. One rule for rich and powerful, another for the rest. Michael West reports on the world of deluxe double standards.

Crown v Shannon: bigwigs off the hook, small fish fried – Michael West

How common is corporate crime? Too common

Exceptions or the systemic nature of Corporate Crime. They claim it the legitimate pursuit of profit and Capitalism agrees by simply fining those responsible.(ODT)

In their amoral, dollar-obsessed way, economists assess the attractions of law breaking by weighing the benefit to be gained against the cost of being caught multiplied by the probability of being caught.

via How common is corporate crime? Too common

Why Arabs And Muslims Aren’t Exotic: The Grip of Orientalism (Video)

via Why Arabs And Muslims Aren’t Exotic: The Grip of Orientalism (Video)

Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson says she was fired for refusing to have sex with Roger Ailes

Source: Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson says she was fired for refusing to have sex with Roger Ailes

Noam Chomsky: Exceptionalism Is a Concept Held by Every Great Power and It’s Always Wrong

In a conversation with theoretical physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, Noam Chomsky explains why American exceptionalism is neither unique nor founded on truth. The renowned linguist goes on to discuss how, despite the fact that many are under the illusion that United States interventionist attitudes abroad are altruistic, the country’s foreign policy only benefits the most powerful Americans, among other important topics.

Watch the two-part dialogue, which forms part of Arizona State University’s Origins Project, below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OFzB9vztqfg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9-gb91L4gQM