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Tag: History

Remember The ‘Used & Betrayed’ Veterans Subjected To Horrific Experimentation

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Every Memorial Day, American leaders make passionate speeches about their love and admiration for the sacrifices made by the country’s brave military veterans.

“There’s no phrase U.S. politicians love more than ‘support the troops,’” journalist Abby Martin declared on a recent episode of her show, “The Empire Files.”

Yet, as Martin noted, “A dark hidden history shows that [politicians are] no friend to service members, but rather their greatest enemy. An easy way to prove this is to look at how quickly they abandon their soldiers after ruining their lives, even after using them as literal lab rats.”

How A 100 Year-Old British Colonial Contract Continues To Shape The Middle East

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of a decision by French and English diplomats to divide the Middle East into competing empires — a decision that continues to influence unrest in the region even today.

The historic Sykes-Picot agreement, named for its authors, diplomats Mark Sykes of Great Britain and François Georges-Picot of France, was secretly signed on May 16, 1916, although the world was not aware of its existence until after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Signed by the U.K. and France during a meeting at Downing Street in London, with the agreement of the Russian Empire, it was intended to divide the two imperialist nations’ sphere of influence after an anticipated victory against the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

Britain took control of land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, including modern-day Jordan, southern Iraq, and the Mediterranean ports of Haifa and Acre. France took parts of Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, while Russia took Istanbul, Armenia, and the Turkish Straits.

No Sneakers For Nakba: Reebok Denies Shoe Celebrating Israeli ‘Independence’

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Under intense pressure from activists, a global manufacturer of athletic footwear and clothing has backed away from plans to honor Israel with a special sneaker.

On Monday, Reebok announced a blue and white sneaker with “Israel 68” emblazoned on the heel to mark the 68th anniversary of the signing of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, an Israeli national holiday known as Yom Ha’atzmaut, or Independence Day.

“Moshe Sinai, the CEO of Reebok Israel, explained that these sneakers were to be a one time celebratory release as a collector’s item in Israel and the world,” The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday. (The article was later deleted from the news outlet’s website, but can still be found in Google’s web cache.)

Supporters of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement flooded social media with condemnations of the sneaker.

‘Orange Sunshine’: Tune In, Turn On With 100 Million Hits Of LSD (#SXSW)

Posted in Journalism, and SXSW

LSD is back in the news, as scientists begin to study this intriguing substance again.

After spending years banished to the realms of forbidden science, a study published in March from The Proceedings of the National Academy Of Sciences USA used neural imaging to examine the areas of the brain activated by the psychedelic drug. David Nuitt, a lead researcher, told Nature that he thinks LSD has potential to treat addiction and depression.

In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists and psychotherapists were fascinated by the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms), even as everyday Americans experienced their effects firsthand by the thousands. A politically-motivated surge in the war on drugs sent both research and psychedelic culture underground.

“Orange Sunshine,” which premiered at SXSW in March, tells the story of The Brotherhood Of Eternal Love, the hippie surfer cult that fueled America’s LSD boom. In the name of helping the country “turn on,” they created and distributed millions of hits of acid to celebrities and festival-goers alike.

Over $1 Trillion Spent Since Nixon Began The War On Drugs

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The “war on drugs” costs Americans a staggering amount of money every year that it persists. Despite the billions they receive, federal, state and local law enforcement have a proven inability to stem the flow of drugs on the nation’s streets.

Since Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs in June 1971, the cost of that “war” had soared to over $1 trillion by 2010. Over $51 billion is spent annually to fight the drug war in the United States, according to Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting more humane drug policies.

It’s also taken a massive toll on human lives. In 2013, at least 2.2 million people were incarcerated in the U.S., withsome estimates reaching 2.4 million, making the U.S. home to the world’s largest prison population. A vast number of those prisoners are victims of the war on drugs, reported Alejandro Crawford in U.S. News and World Report in March:

MSNBC Opts To Apologize After Airing Map Of Disappearing Palestine

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Earlier this month, MSNBC aired a well-known, but controversial graphic that illustrates how Israel has taken over Palestine as the occupation of the region has grown over time.

The graphic, which appeared during an Oct. 15 discussion between MSNBC anchor Kate Snow and Martin Fletcher, a Middle East correspondent, shows a series of four maps dating from 1946 to the present that depict the loss of Palestinian territory to Israel.

During the segment, Fletcher discussed the ways that Israel’s provocative behavior at Al-Aqsa Mosque is a major trigger for the latest violence in Gaza and the West Bank, then Snow introduced the graphic as it appeared on screen, saying: “What does that show you, Martin, that the area Palestinians are living, has it grown increasingly smaller?”