Articles by Ben Norton
We found 54 results.
BRICS Expands to 56% of World Population, 44% of Global GDP
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Jul 2025
4 Jul 2025 – BRICS has expanded to 20 countries – 10 members and 10 partners – after adding Vietnam. BRICS+ now makes up 44% of world GDP (PPP) and 56% of the global population. The US failed to divide China and Vietnam in its Second Cold War.
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USA: #1 Worldwide Arms Dealer
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Mar 2025
12 Mar 2025 – The United States is the biggest arms dealer on Earth, responsible for 43% of the world’s weapons exports from 2020 to 2024. The US transferred seven times more than China and five times more than Russia.
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BRICS Expands to 54.6% of World Population by Adding Nigeria, Africa’s Most Populous Country
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jan 2025
19 Jan 2025 – BRICS added Nigeria with the 6th-biggest population on Earth. BRICS+ now has 10 members and 9 partners, which make up 54.6% of the world population and 42.2% of global GDP.
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BRICS Expands with Nine New Partner Countries
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Dec 2024
25 Dec 2024 – Now It’s Half of World Population, 41% of Global Economy
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Exposed: US Military Supported Syrian Rebel Offensive That Toppled Assad Government
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Dec 2024
21 Dec 2024 – Syrian rebel commanders have admitted that the US military helped them overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. NATO member Turkey and Israel played a key role as well.
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BRICS Expands to 13 ‘Partner Countries’ at Historic Summit in Kazan, Russia
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Oct 2024
27 Oct 2024 – BRICS held a summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024, where it expanded with 13 “partner nations”, after adding four new members. These are the most important takeaways from the historic meeting.
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BRICS Plans ‘Multi-Currency System’ to Challenge US Dollar Dominance: Understanding Russia’s Proposal
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Oct 2024
20 Oct 2024 – The BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative will use national currencies, instead of the US dollar. Russia’s finance ministry and central bank released a report detailing plans to transform the international monetary and financial system.
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Cold War II: US Congress Passes 25 Anti-China Laws in One Week, Funds Propaganda Campaign
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Sep 2024
22 Sep 2024 – In what it called “China Week,” the US House of Representatives approved 25 anti-Chinese laws in bipartisan votes. CWII fervor is reaching fever pitch in Washington.
→ read full article94% of North Americans Want to End Ukraine War but US Rejects China Peace Deal, Opposes Talks with Russia
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Jun 2024
8 Jun 2024 – Polling shows 94% of people in the US and 88% in Western Europe want a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine, but NATO opposes a peace proposal made by China and Brazil, and refuses to invite Russia to talks in Switzerland.
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West Votes Against Rest of World, Supporting Illegal Sanctions in UN Human Rights Council
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Apr 2024
6 Apr 2024 – In the United Nations Human Rights Council, the West voted against the rest of the world, supporting illegal sanctions (known as unilateral coercive measures).
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China Is ‘World’s Sole Manufacturing Superpower’ with 35% of Global Output
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2024
China’s state-led economic development model and robust industrial policy has transformed it into what an influential European think tank calls “the world’s sole manufacturing superpower”, making up 35% of global gross production – more than the 9 next largest manufacturers combined.
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West Sabotaged Ukraine Peace Deal with Russia, Admit Zelensky Official and Germany’s Ex-Leader
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Dec 2023
4 Dec 2023 – Russia wanted to sign a peace deal with Ukraine in March 2022, but NATO countries sabotaged it, according to Germany’s former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and the parliamentary faction leader of Zelensky’s political party, Davyd Arakhamia.
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US Blocks Gaza Peace Proposal at UN for 3rd Time, Holding World Hostage
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report - TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Dec 2023
10 Dec 2023 – The USA voted alone against the rest of the world preventing peace in Gaza by vetoing three different resolutions in the UNSC. Meanwhile, Washington [the Good Guys] continues giving weapons to Israel [the other Good Guys] to commit genocide against Palestinian civilians in Gaza [the Bad Guys]. Tragicomic.
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West Votes against Democracy, Human Rights, Cultural Diversity at UN–Promotes Mercenaries, Sanctions
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Dec 2023
26 Nov 2023 – The West voted [as a block] against the rest of the world on United Nations General Assembly resolutions opposing democracy, human rights, and cultural diversity, while supporting mercenaries and unilateral coercive measures (sanctions).
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Palestinians Have a Legal Right to Armed Resistance against Israeli Colonialism
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Oct 2023
8 Oct 2023 – International law clearly shows that the Palestinian people have a legal right to armed struggle against Israeli colonialism, just as South Africans did against Apartheid. Gaza suffers under an illegal Israeli blockade that even a former British prime minister recognized to be a “prison camp”. We look over the evidence.
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Corporate Profits Were Biggest Driver of Inflation in Europe, IMF Admits
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Jul 2023
27 Jun 2023 – Rising corporate profits have caused 45% of inflation in Europe, compared to 40% for rising import prices and just 15% for workers’ wages, according to research by IMF economists.
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BRICS New Development Bank De-Dollarizing, Adding Members
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Jun 2023
The BRICS bloc’s New Development Bank, an alternative to the US-dominated World Bank, is de-dollarizing its loans, promoting local currencies, and adding new members: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe.
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US Corporations Cash in on Ukraine’s Oil and Gas
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 May 2023
28 Apr 2023 – As Ukraine sells off public assets in a privatization spree, US fossil fuel corporations like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Halliburton are in talks to run its oil and gas industry, and the IMF imposes the Washington Consensus.
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Facebook Censors Journalist Seymour Hersh’s Report on Nord Stream Pipeline Attack
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 May 2023
25 Apr 2023 – Facebook censored a report by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh on the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany, forcing users to instead read a website funded and partially owned by NATO member Norway.
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Peru’s Coup-Plotting Congress Has 6% Approval, 91% Disapproval (but Full US Backing)
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Apr 2023
17 Apr 2023 – Peru’s coup-plotting, right-wing-controlled congress has 6% approval and 91% disapproval. Unelected leader Dina Boluarte has 15% approval and 78% disapproval. But they have the full support of the US, Canada, and foreign mining corporations.
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BRICS Bank De-dollarizing, New Chief Dilma Rousseff Says
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Apr 2023
16 Apr 2023 – The new chief of the BRICS bloc’s New Development Bank, Brazil’s leftist ex-President Dilma Rousseff, revealed they are gradually moving away from the US dollar, promising at least 30% of loans in local currencies of members.
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West Is Out of Touch with Rest of World Politically, EU-Funded Study Admits
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Mar 2023
26 Feb 2023 – A study by the elite EU-funded European Council on Foreign Relations found the West is out of touch politically with the rest of the world. Most people in China, India, and Türkiye see Russia as an important ally, and they want multipolarity, not continued “American global supremacy”.
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China Report Excoriates ‘US Hegemony’, War Crimes, CIA Coups, 400 Foreign Interventions
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Feb 2023
23 Feb 2023 – China’s Foreign Ministry published a lengthy report condemning “US hegemony” and its crimes around the world, including wars with millions of victims, coups and “regime change” against elected leaders, and 400 foreign military interventions.
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US Admits Chinese Balloon Was off Course–It Shot down a $12 Balloon in $2M Missile Attack
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Feb 2023
19 Feb 2023 – US officials acknowledged the Chinese balloon they shot down on 4 Feb had likely been blown off course by unexpected weather. The US Air Force later spent $2 million using missiles to blow up what appeared to be a $12 hobbyist balloon.
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Peru’s Natural Resources: CIA-linked US Ambassador Meets with Mining and Energy Ministers to Talk ‘Investments’
Ben Norton | Geopolitical Economy Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Jan 2023
20 Jan 2023 – Peru has large reserves of copper, gold, zinc, silver, lead, iron, and natural gas. After a coup overthrew left-wing President Pedro Castillo on 7 Dec 2022, the US ambassador, CIA veteran Lisa Kenna, met with mining and energy ministers to discuss “investments”. Europe is importing Peruvian LNG to replace Russian energy.
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Brazil’s Ex-President Bolsonaro Fled to Florida
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Jan 2023
3 Jan 2023 – Lula da Silva returned as Brazil’s president, calling for fighting poverty and hunger, re-industrializing, strengthening the BRICS, and deepening Latin American integration. Far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro fled to Florida, fearing legal consequences for his corruption.
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Russia Dropping US Dollar for Chinese Yuan – And Fast
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Jan 2023
26 Dec 2022 – In response to Western sanctions, Russia’s central bank is dropping the US dollar for Chinese yuan. The yuan’s share of Moscow’s currency trading increased from 1% to 40-45% in 2022, while dollar trade halved from 80% to 40%.
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Judicial Coup in Argentina: Corrupt Judges Conspire with Media Oligarchs to Ban Cristina Kirchner from Office
Ben Norton | Multipolarista - TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Dec 2022
9 Dec 2022 – Leaked messages show Argentina’s corrupt judges and prosecutors conspired with right-wing media oligarchs to launch a judicial coup against left-wing ex President and current VP Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, sentencing her to six years in prison and banning her from running in the 2023 elections.
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Entire World Votes 185 to 2 against Blockade of Cuba—US and Israel Are Rogue States at UN
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Nov 2022
4 Nov 2022 – For the 30th year in a row, almost every country on Earth voted at the United Nations General Assembly to oppose the illegal six-decade US blockade of Cuba. 185 nations voted against just two: the United States and Israel.
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Imperialism and Capitalism Are ‘Bleeding the World Dry’: At UN, Nicaragua Calls for Global Rebellion
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Oct 2022
27 Sep 2022 – At the United Nations General Assembly, Nicaragua’s Sandinista government called for a global rebellion against the “imperialist and capitalist system” that is “bleeding the world dry.” Condemning illegal sanctions and war, it urged a new multipolar order.
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What Is ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’? Inside China’s Economic Model
Ben Norton | Multipolarista - TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jun 2022
22 May 2022 – How does socialism with Chinese characteristics differ from Western neoliberal capitalism? Multipolarista editor Benjamin Norton discussed China’s socialist model with economist John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
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Summit of the Americas Fails: Boycott by Presidents of Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras, Guatemala
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jun 2022
7 Jun 2022 – As the US government’s Summit of the Americas opens in Los Angeles, California, the presidents of Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras, and Guatemala have refused to attend, protesting the exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
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NATO Is Arming and Training Nazis in Ukraine, as US Floods Russia’s Neighbor with Weapons
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Mar 2022
11 Mar 2022 – NATO is sending weapons and trainers to help neo-Nazis in Ukraine’s white-supremacist Azov movement fight Russia. This follows numerous reports of Western government support for Ukrainian far-right extremists.
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US, UK, France Promised USSR Not to Expand NATO East of Germany, Newly Discovered Document Proves
Ben Norton | Multipolarista – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Feb 2022
21 Feb 2022 – A newly discovered document provides more evidence that Western governments broke their promise not to expand NATO eastward after German reunification. Notes from a 1991 meeting prove that the US, UK, France, and Germany assured the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand east.
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Argentina Turns to Russia and Joins China’s Belt and Road
Ben Norton | Popular Resistance – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Feb 2022
6 Feb 2022 – Seeking alternatives to US hegemony, President Alberto Fernández traveled to Russia and China, forming an alliance with the Eurasian powers, joining the Belt and Road Initiative. Argentina is trapped in $44 billion of IMF odious debt taken on by corrupt right-wing regimes.
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NATO’s Plans to Hack Your Brain
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Oct 2021
8 Oct 2021 – Behind NATO’s ‘cognitive warfare’: ‘Battle for your brain’ waged by Western militaries. Western governments in the NATO military alliance are developing tactics of “cognitive warfare,” using the supposed threats of China and Russia to justify waging a “battle for your brain” in the “human domain,” to “make everyone a weapon.”
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US-Funded Belarusian Regime-Change Activist Arrested on Plane Joined Neo-Nazis in Ukraine
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
31 May 2021
27 May 2021 – Belarusian regime-change activist Roman Protasevich, whose arrest on a grounded plane caused a global scandal, joined Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov Battalion and was cultivated by the US government’s media apparatus.
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US Backs Al-Qaeda in Yemen while Dubbing Its Houthi Enemies ‘Terrorists’
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Feb 2021
12 Jan 2021 – The US State Department designated Yemen’s Houthi movement — the most effective force in fighting al-Qaeda — as a “terrorist” organization. Meanwhile, Washington and Saudi Arabia have supported al-Qaeda.
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(Français) Les gouvernements occidentaux ont financé un important réseau de propagande en Syrie
Ben Norton | Investig'action - TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Oct 2020
29 septembre 2020 – Des coupures de renseignement financées par le gouvernement occidental ont formé des dirigeants de l’opposition syrienne, semé des articles dans les médias et dirigé un groupe de journalistes. Une mine de documents divulgués expose le réseau de propagande. Les documents mettent également en lumière le programme britannique de formation et d’armement des groupes rebelles, y compris des jihadistes extrémistes.
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Leaked Docs Expose Massive Syria Propaganda Operation Waged by Western Gov’t Contractors and Media
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Oct 2020
29 Sep 2020 – Western government-funded intelligence cutouts trained Syrian opposition leaders, planted stories in the media and ran a cadre of journalists. A trove of leaked documents exposes the propaganda network. The documents also shine light on the British program to train and arm rebel groups, including extremist jihadists.
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As Nicaragua Confronts COVID-19, Its U.S.-Backed Opposition Exploits the Pandemic to Create Chaos
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Apr 2020
13 Apr 2020 – Nicaragua’s right-wing opposition is waging an information warfare campaign to undermine the elected Sandinista government, spreading fake news on coronavirus, while the state takes a balanced approach with close attention to the working class and poor.
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Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Bolsonaro’s Brazil Begs for Cuban Doctors–After Expelling Them
Ben Norton | Grayzone - TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Mar 2020
17 Mar 2020 – Brazil’s far-right government requested the return of thousands of Cuban doctors to help fight the coronavirus. Months ago, President Jair Bolsonaro smeared the doctors as “terrorists” and expelled them.
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Under US Pressure, Social Media Companies Censor Critical Content and Suspend Venezuelan, Iranian, and Syrian Accounts
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jan 2020
12 Jan 2020 – As the US escalates its hybrid wars, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are suspending accounts and censoring content that conflicts with Washington’s pro-war narrative. We spoke to several people silenced in these social media purges.
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(Français) Des néonazis ukrainiens parmi les manifestants à Hong Kong
Ben Norton | Investig’Action – The Grayzone,
16 Dec 2019
9 Déc 2019 – Dans les médias occidentaux, les manifestations qui embrasent Hong Kong sont présentées comme un combat honorable pour la liberté et la démocratie. Bizarrement, ce mouvement est ardemment soutenu par des figures notoires de l’extrême droite US. Et depuis, les manifestants hongkongais peuvent même compter sur les conseils de néonazis ukrainiens, venus partager leur expérience et leurs tactiques d’insurrection.
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Bolivia Coup Led by Christian Fascist Paramilitary Leader and Millionaire–with Foreign Support
Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Nov 2019
11 Nov 2019 – Bolivian coup leader Luis Fernando Camacho is a far-right multi-millionaire who arose from fascist movements in the Santa Cruz region, where the US has encouraged separatism. He has courted support from Colombia, Brazil, and the Venezuelan opposition.
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US and Israel Were Lone Votes against UN Resolutions Opposing Space Arms Race and Nuclear Middle East
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Nov 2019
8 Nov 2019 – The only two countries that voted consistently against UNGA draft resolutions calling for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East and to stop an arms race in outer space.
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‘This Charge Is 100% False’: Grayzone Editor Max Blumenthal Arrested Months after Reporting on Venezuelan Opposition Violence
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Nov 2019
28 Oct 2019 – The Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal has been arrested on false charges after reporting on Venezuelan opposition violence outside the DC embassy. He describes the manufactured case as part of a wider campaign of political persecution.
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NY Times Admits It Sends Stories to US Government for Approval before Publication
Ben Norton | The Grayzone – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jul 2019
24 Jun 2019 – The New York Times has publicly acknowledged that it sends some of its stories to the US government for approval from “national security officials” before publication. This confirms what veteran NYT correspondents like James Risen have said: The American newspaper of record regularly collaborates with the US government, suppressing reporting that top officials don’t want made public.
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US-Backed Coalition Bombs Yemen’s New Cholera Treatment Center, after Unleashing World’s Largest Outbreak
Ben Norton - The Real News,
20 Jun 2018
The US-backed Saudi/Emirati coalition bombed a newly constructed cholera treatment center in Yemen run by Médecins Sans Frontières. This air attack comes after the impoverished country suffered through the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history.
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Media Erase NATO Role in Bringing Slave Markets to Libya
Ben Norton | Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Dec 2017
28 Nov 2017 – The American and British media have awakened to the grim reality in Libya, where African refugees are for sale in open-air slave markets. Yet a crucial detail in this scandal has been downplayed or even ignored in many corporate media reports: the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in bringing slavery to the North African nation.
→ read full articleHow Media Obscure US/Saudi Responsibility for Killing Yemeni Civilians
Ben Norton | FAIR Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Sep 2017
31 Aug 2017 – A coalition of Saudi Arabia, USA, UK and UAE has relentlessly bombed Yemen since March 2015. There are no other parties bombing the country, so media cannot feign ignorance as to who is responsible for the attacks. But reports on the bloody US/Saudi coalition airstrikes were nonetheless rife with ambiguous and downright misleading language.
→ read full articleLeading Israeli Journalist Says Israel Is an Apartheid State
Ben Norton, Mondoweiss – TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Aug 2015
What I’m about to write will not come easily for me. I used to be one of those people who took issue with the label of apartheid as applied to Israel. I’m not one of those people any more. Not after the last few weeks.
→ read full articleWe Shouldn’t Be Surprised: Turkey Is Supporting ISIS
Ben Norton - CounterPunch,
17 Nov 2014
In one of the most contemptible of recent political developments, we now know that the great secular, democratic nation of Turkey is directly aiding ISIS to crush the Kurdish resistance. This proud member of NATO sat on its hands for weeks, watching across the Syrian border as Daesh fascists tried to take over the town of Kobane.
→ read full articleUnder Israeli Apartheid, Palestinians Cannot Ride Israeli Buses
Ben Norton – CounterPunch,
3 Nov 2014
28 Oct 2014 – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has officially banned Palestinians from traveling on Israeli-run public transportation in the West Bank, according to a new report by Haaretz, Israel’s most prominent newspaper.
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