New posts at S2e TV

Top U.S. & World Headlines — July 7, 2016 Top U.S. & World Headlines

Iraqi Exile: U.K. Iraq Inquiry Confirms the War Was Based on a Lie

In Iraq, the death toll from Saturday’s car bombing in Baghdad has topped 250, making it the deadliest car bombing in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion. While Iraq is in a state of mourning, a long-awaited British inquiry into the Iraq War has just been released. It blames former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for deliberately exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the lead-up to the Iraq War. We speak with Iraqi exile Sami Ramadani, who campaigned against U.S.-led sanctions and the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Senator Mike Lee: Give More Power to Congress (and Take it Away from Federal Agencies)

"A government that's that big, that takes that much of your money, that is big enough and powerful enough to spy on you, to lie to you, to target you, is a government that we ought not have in the first place," Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) told Reason TV. Mike Lee isn't content simply to identify the out-of-control expansion of federal agencies. He's got his eye on a much larger mission to enact deep structural reform that will rebalance the separation of powers in Washington to their constitutionally prescribed limits. But before he can do that, the junior senator from Utah wants the voting public to understand how federal power got so far out of whack to begin with. Lee's book, Our Lost Constitution: The Willful Subversion of America's Founding Document, aims to do just that. It explains how and why Congress delegates much of its authority to federal agencies.

Tariq Ali on Chilcot Iraq Report: Tony Blair is War Criminal for Pushing Us into Illegal War

While Iraq is marking a third day of mourning, a long-awaited British inquiry into the Iraq War has just been released. The Chilcot report is 2.6 million words long—about three times the length of the Bible. Using excerpts from private correspondence between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush, the report details how Blair pushed Britain into the war despite a lack of concrete intelligence. For example, eight months before the invasion, Blair wrote to Bush: "I will be with you, whatever." Then, in June 2003, less than three months after the invasion began, Blair privately wrote to Bush that the task in Iraq is "absolutely awesome and I’m not at all sure we’re geared for it." Blair added, "And if it falls apart, everything falls apart in the region.” For more, we speak with British-Pakistani writer, commentator and author Tariq Ali.

Giant Inflatable Bulls Chases Protesters With Message for Obama at White House

On Wednesday at the White House, two life-sized inflatable bulls chased a dozen PETA supporters wearing the traditional Running of the Bulls white outfit with red sashes and carrying a giant sign that reads, “Obama: Say ‘No’ to Running of the Bulls.” The action came in the midst of speculation that President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Spain will include a stop at the San Fermín festival’s annual bull run, during which dozens of bulls are struck and terrorized as they slip and slide down narrow streets on their way to be violently killed in Pamplona’s bullring.

Dave Stewart and Jimmy Cliff performing for Peace Day 2002