Exposé: In the Belly of the Beast

Below, a hard-hitting exposé of the factory farm industry published by Rolling Stone. It is so well done that we will be referring you to the original presentation for the full article. Thank you, Rolling Stone. —Eds.

A SMALL BAND OF ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN INFILTRATING THE FACTORY FARMS WHERE ANIMALS ARE TURNED INTO MEAT UNDER THE MOST HORRIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
NOW THE AGRIBUSINESS GIANTS ARE TRYING TO CRUSH THEM.

By Paul Soloratoff

Sarah – let’s call her that for this story, though it’s neither the name her parents gave her nor the one she currently uses undercover – is a tall, fair woman in her midtwenties who’s pretty in a stock, anonymous way, as if she’d purposely scrubbed her face and frame of distinguishing characteristics. Like anyone who’s spent much time working farms, she’s functionally built through the thighs and trunk, herding pregnant hogs who weigh triple what she does into chutes to birth their litters and hefting buckets of dead piglets down quarter-mile alleys to where they’re later processed. It’s backbreaking labor, nine-hour days in stifling barns in Wyoming, and no training could prepare her for the sensory assault of 10,000 pigs in close quarters: the stench of their shit, piled three feet high in the slanted trenches below; the blood on sows’ snouts cut by cages so tight they can’t turn around or lie sideways; the racking cries of broken-legged pigs, hauled into alleys by dead-eyed workers and left there to die of exposure. It’s the worst job she or anyone else has had, but Sarah isn’t grousing about the conditions. She’s too busy waging war on the hogs’ behalf.

Icy weather—the great “equalizer”

Give this a chance. It begins slowly and then you’ll roll on the floor.
SENT BY OUR CORRESPONDENT NATALIE JARNSTEDT

Sharon: Galloway’s portrait from memory

REMEMBERING ARIEL SHARON

By The Girl Who Loves Khamis

This is a transcript I have done of the start of George Galloway’s ‘Sputnik’ programme, broadcast on Russia Today TV (UK) on January 18th 2014 – as spoken by Galloway and his assistant Gayatri.

“The picture of the week has to be ‘peace envoy’ Tony Blair at Ariel Sharon’s funeral – emoting like he did that morning when Diana died. I was sure he was going to sob at any moment – Sharon was The People’s Butcher. Warmly embracing Sharon’s son, Gilad – the son that is not the two ton burger king – who is on the record as saying that Gaza, and presumably with nearly two million inhabitants, should be flattened like Hiroshima – with a nuclear bomb.

Blair seems utterly oblivious to the way he is viewed by the 350 million Arabs in the Middle East – or maybe he just doesn’t care.

While, to Tony Blair, Ariel Sharon was bold, unorthodox, unyielding; to many, if not most in the Middle East, Ariel Sharon was the Butcher of Beirut – for his role in the 1982 massacre of up to 3,500 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

I was in Beirut in 1982, when the ‘Israeli Defence Forces’ invaded Lebanon en masse. I just made it out of the country – ahead of the phosphorous bombs and tanks. I returned immediately after they were forced to withdraw by the Lebanese resistance – and went to the camps that had once been my home – Sabra and Shatila.

Some of the dead remained unburied – the stench was unmistakable – and the camps were full of wandering wailing women, children and old men.

Against the Butcher of Beirut, the women, children and old men in the camp had, of course, been defenceless – for the Palestinian fighters had all sailed away to a new exile in faraway Tunisia. They did so under a United States guarantee, signed by President Reagan’s representative…that their families would not be harmed once they were no longer there to protect them – but before the ink on the promise was dry, their families blood was running in the open sewers of the camps.

Ariel Sharon stood throughout the night of the massacre on the roof of the Kuwaiti embassy, on the perimeter of the camp – directing the giant searchlights and incendiary flares, which turned the night into day and illuminated the hovels of the camp – the better for the Phalangist militiamen to go house-to-house with their knives, bayonets and swords.

Even the Israeli government of the former terrorist leader, Prime Minister Menachem Begin, was forced to set up an inquiry, the Kahan Commission, which concluded with Sharon’s responsibility, and his dismissal – and ‘banning’ from public office.

None of this narrative made it into the eulogy of Blair and Co – so we are…remembering – the real Ariel Sharon”.

The Secret War in Libya

The Truth of the Green Resistance

By ERIC DRAITSER, Counterpunch

Libyan anti-Nato fighters.

The battles currently raging in the South of Libya are no mere tribal clashes. Instead, they represent a possible burgeoning alliance between black Libyan ethnic groups and pro-Gaddafi forces intent upon liberating their country of a neocolonial NATO-installed government.

On Saturday January 18th, a group of heavily armed fighters stormed an air force base outside the city of Sabha in southern Libya, expelling forces loyal to the “government” of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, and occupying the base. At the same time, reports from inside the country began to trickle in that the green flag of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was flying over a number of cities throughout the country. Despite the dearth of verifiable information – the government in Tripoli has provided only vague details and corroboration – one thing is certain: the war for Libya continues.

On the Ground

Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan called an emergency session of the General National Congress to declare a state of alert for the country after news of the storming of the air base broke. The Prime Minister announced that he had ordered troops south to quell the rebellion, telling reporters that, “This confrontation is continuing but in a few hours it will be solved.” A spokesman for the Defense Ministry later claimed that the central government had reclaimed control of the air base, stating that “A force was readied, then aircraft moved and took off and dealt with the targets…The situation in the south opened a chance for some criminals…loyal to the Gaddafi regime to exploit this and to attack the Tamahind air force base…We will protect the revolution and the Libyan people.”

In addition to the assault on the airbase, there have been other attacks on individual members of the government in Tripoli. The highest profile incident was the recent assassination of the Deputy Industry Minister Hassan al-Droui in the city of Sirte. Although it is still unclear whether he was killed by Islamist forces or Green resistance fighters, the unmistakable fact is that the central government is under assault and is unable to exercise true authority or provide security in the country. Many have begun speculating that his killing, rather than being an isolated, targeted assassination, is part of a growing trend of resistance in which pro-Gaddafi Green fighters figure prominently.

The rise of the Green resistance forces in Sabha and elsewhere is merely one part of larger and more complex political and military calculus in the South where a number of tribes and various ethnic groups have risen against what they correctly perceive to be their political, economic, and social marginalization. Groups such as the Tawergha and Tobou ethnic minorities, both of which are black African groups, have endured vicious attacks at the hands of Arab militias with no support from the central government. Not only have these and other groups been the victims of ethnic cleansing, but they have been systematically shut out of participation in Libyan political and economic life.

The tensions came to a head earlier this month when a rebel chief from the Arab Awled Sleiman tribe was killed. Rather than an official investigation or legal process, the Awled tribesmen attacked their black Toubou neighbors, accusing them of involvement in the murder. The resulting clashes have since killed dozens, once again demonstrating that the dominant Arab groups still view their dark skinned neighbors as something other than countrymen. Undoubtedly, this has led to a reorganization of the alliances in the region, with the Toubou, Tuareg and other black minority groups that inhabit southern Libya, northern Chad and Niger moving closer to the pro-Gaddafi forces. Whether or not these alliances are formal or not still remains unclear, however it is apparent that many groups in Libya have come to the realization that the government installed by NATO has not lived up to its promises, and that something must be done.

The Politics of Race in Libya

Despite the high-minded rhetoric from Western interventionists regarding “democracy” and “freedom” in Libya, the reality is far from it, especially for dark skinned Libyans who have seen their socioeconomic and political status diminished with the end of the Jamahiriya government of Muammar Gaddafi. While these peoples enjoyed a large measure of political equality and protection under the law in Gaddafi’s Libya, the post-Gaddafi era has seen their rights all but stripped from them. Rather than being integrated into a new democratic state, the black Libyan groups have been systematically excluded.

In fact, even Human Rights Watch – an organization which in no small measure helped to justify the NATO war by falsely claiming that Gaddafi forces used rape as a weapon and were preparing “imminent genocide” – has reported that, “A crime against humanity of mass forced displacement continues unabated, as militias mainly from Misrata prevented 40,000 people from the town of Tawergha from returning to their homes from where they had been expelled in 2011.” This fact, coupled with the horrific stories and images of lynchings, rapes, and other crimes against humanity, paints a very bleak picture of life in Libya for these groups.

In its 2011 report, Amnesty International documented a number of flagrant war crimes carried out by the so called “freedom fighters” of Libya who, despite being hailed in the Western media as “liberators”, used the opportunity of the war to carry out mass executions of black Libyans as well as rival clans and ethnic groups. This is of course in stark contrast to the treatment of black Libyans under the Jamahiriya government of Gaddafi which was praised up and down by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in their 2011 report which noted that Gaddafi had gone to great lengths to ensure economic and social development, as well as specifically providing economic opportunities and political protections to black Libyans and migrant workers from neighboring African countries. With this in mind, is it any wonder that Al Jazeera quoted a pro-Gaddafi Tuareg fighter in September 2011 as saying, “fighting for Gaddafi is like a son fighting for his father…[We will be] ready to fight for him until the last drop of blood.”

As the Toubou and other black ethnic groups clash with Arab militias, their struggle should be understood in the context of a continued struggle for peace and equality. Moreover, the fact that they must engage in this form of armed struggle again illustrates the point that many international observers made from the very beginning of the war: NATO’s aggression was never about protecting civilians or human rights, but rather regime change for economic and geopolitical interests. That the majority of the population, including black ethnic minorities, is worse off today than they ever were under Gaddafi is a fact that is actively suppressed.

Black, Green, and the Struggle for Libya

It would be presumptuous to assume that the military victories made by the pro-Gaddafi Green resistance in recent days will be long-lasting, or that they represent an irreversible shift in the political and military landscape of the country. Though decidedly unstable, the neocolonial puppet government in Tripoli is supported economically and militarily by some of the most powerful interests in the world, making it difficult to simply overthrow it with minor victories. However, these developments do signal an interesting shift in the calculus on the ground. Undoubtedly there is a confluence between the black ethnic minorities and the Green fighters as both recognize their enemy as being the tribal militias who participated in the overthrow of Gaddafi as well as the central government in Tripoli. Whether a formal alliance emerges from this remains to be seen.

Were such an alliance to develop however, it would be a watershed moment in the continued war for Libya. As Green resistance fighters have shown in Sabha, they are able to organize themselves in the south of the country where they enjoy a large degree of popular support. One could imagine an alliance in the south that would be able to hold territory and possibly consolidate power throughout the southern part of Libya, creating a de facto independent state. Naturally, the cry from NATO and its apologists would be that this is anti-democratic and counter-revolution. This would be understandable as their goal of a unified Libya subservient to international finance capital and oil interests would become unattainable.

One should be careful not to make too many assumptions about the situation in Libya today, as reliable details are hard to come by. More to the point, Western media has attempted to completely suppress the fact that the Green resistance even exists, let alone is active and winning victories. All this simply further illustrates that the war for Libya rages on, whether the world wants to admit it or not.

Eric Draitser is the founder of StopImperialism.com. He is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City. You can reach him at ericdraitser@gmail.com.
The following site is worth examining, manned by people fighting the NATO collaborators: libyaagainstsuperpowermedia.org

A NEW WIKI PAGE ALSO PROVIDES ENCOURAGING NEWS:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Resistance

Freedom Rider: Richard Sherman and America’s Sickness

By BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

White NFL fans blow hot and cold when it comes to their feelings about Black players. Idolatry turned quickly to hate when Richard Sherman forgot his “place.” The psycho-fanatic twitter mob “called Sherman a nigger, a thug, a gorilla, and a porch monkey who ought to be lynched.”

“Black sports heroes may be idolized, but they are still black and are reminded as such.”

America is a nation addicted to racism and to the denial of many horrible realities. The result is a population living in fantasy and reveling in trivialities. These tendencies sometimes merge into a firestorm of controversies which while irrelevant may also say a lot about the terrible state of the American consciousness.

The latest such incident came about because of a football game. The National Football League is the most popular of all professional sports in this country and 66% of its players are African American. These factoids bring out the schizophrenia inherent in a racist society. Black sports heroes may be idolized, but they are still black and are reminded as such if they stray too far from the bounds of behavior considered acceptable by white people.

Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks is the latest example of the admired black man who gets less love when he doesn’t behave as he is told he should. Sherman played a key role in a game winning play in the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers. When white, blonde reporter Erin Andrews approached Sherman after the game and asked about what transpired, Sherman responded [6] with great intensity and words which are thought but rarely spoken.

“Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks is the latest example of the admired black man who gets less love when he doesn’t behave as he is told.”

“Let me ask you about that play. Take me through it.”

[pullquote]America is a nation addicted to racism and to the denial of many horrible realities. The result is a population living in fantasy and reveling in trivialities.[/pullquote]

“Well I’m the best corner [back] in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like [Michael] Crabtree that’s the result you’re going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me!”

“Who was talking about you?”

“Crabtree. Don’t you open your mouth about the best. Or I’ll shut it for you real quick. LO.B.!” (Legion Of Boom is the Seahawks defense.)

“And… well… Joe back over to you.”

Sherman skipped the clichés and said what was on the mind of a competitive and aggressive man who just helped win a big game. It was not what most people would say on live television but that should hardly be newsworthy.

Of course what logically shouldn’t be an issue became a national contretemps. Social media lit up as if something serious had happened on the planet and a drugged and deadened populace awakened with as much excitement as Sherman displayed on the air. White people were predictably horrified that the black man yelled in the vicinity of a white woman. It is obvious from the video that he didn’t yell at her, he merely responded to her question while looking straight into the camera. Andrews seemed slightly taken aback but didn’t clutch her pearls and faint because a black man raised his voice.

“Some were embarrassed about the athlete’s interview and accused Sherman of being clownish, coonish, minstrel-like, ghetto, and ungracious in victory.”

You wouldn’t know that from the twitter rages [7] of white America who called Sherman a nigger, a thug, a gorilla, and a porch monkey who ought to be lynched. Black people also played their part in the soap opera. Some were embarrassed about the athlete’s interview and accused Sherman of being clownish, coonish, minstrel-like, ghetto, and ungracious in victory.

Other black people rightly defended Sherman from attack but for all the wrong reasons. They felt the need to point out that he grew up in a hard working two-parent family, graduated at the top of his high school class and went on to the prestigious Stanford University.

Of course it shouldn’t matter how Sherman grew up or where or if he graduated from college. He did nothing wrong except make many white people mad and that is all that should have been pointed out. Respectability politics are deadly and keep black people from speaking up for one another and against blatant racism.

Sports are said to bring people together but they are also used to make people conform to nonsensical codes of behavior. Sherman was said to lack “class” because of his interview and because he boldly indicated that his opponents choked. The word class is one of the most over used in sports and ridiculous when used to talk about professional football. It is an enormously profitable business which is unbelievably also a non-profit corporation. Its actions are not those indicative of good sportsmanship.

“Not only are they physically battered but they are not treated well psychologically either.”

The NFL recently reached a $765 million agreement with retired players as compensation for brain damage caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition which causes Alzheimer’s disease symptoms in young men. Former star players are now living with severe memory loss and serious physical ailments as a result of injuries sustained while playing football.

During the same game that made Richard Sherman a household name, another black man, Navorro Bowman, was carried off the field after suffering a horrific knee injury. That is the plight of the black men in the NFL. They have made a Faustian bargain in order to earn an average salary of $1.9 million per year. Not only are they physically battered but they are not treated well psychologically either.

Earlier this season, Jonathan Martin left the Miami dolphins after suffering hazing and threats at the hands of a white teammate. When the Martin story broke, some of his black teammates criticized him and not his white tormentor. Martin was accused of being “weak” and was advised to “keep it in house” and “man up.” We were told that the NFL locker room culture is a distinct and wonderful place which shouldn’t be questioned by outsiders. It was incredibly sad to hear black athletes talking about themselves like old time white segregationists pleading with the world to let them keep their way of life.

Former player turned actor Terry Crews commented on the incident by describing football as being like a prison. “The NFL is like jail with money. It really is. There is a culture of intimidation, humiliation and violence.” It seems that Sherman said out loud what is said behind closed doors in the football world.

It is all incredibly pathetic. A business earns many millions of dollars by destroying men’s lives. They are then dragged kicking and screaming to make restitution while enabling a culture which exists only in a prison yard.

“The NFL is like jail with money.”

The arrangement is fine with most people. They identify with their teams and hate others and are joined in their feelings with total strangers. It supposedly brings us together until someone shows the dark underbelly.

Richard Sherman isn’t a villain but he isn’t a hero either. He chose a very grueling line of work which may damage him physically and mentally. He should enjoy his moments of glory because he will inevitably end up with a career life span that is a fraction of what most people will have. His salary is higher than most American’s but at $555,000 is below average in the league.

As for the millions of people who will watch him play in the Super Bowl championship game, they need to think more seriously about other things. They need to ask themselves why the federal judge overseeing the CTE settlement declined to give preliminary approval. Among other concerns, Judge Anita Brody does not believe that the settlement will adequately compensate [8] all former players. She also said that the NFL had failed to provide her with the financials she requested. In other words, the league doesn’t want to pay for the damage it has done.

Football is not very classy. Not classy at all.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well as athttp://freedomrider.blogspot.com. [9] Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.

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