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War ‘Actually Just Like the Video Games’ Drone Operator Tells Guy at Bar

Frederick Taub The Duffel Blog
“The media tries to paint this picture of war as all bloody and visceral, like that one picture of that one Marine in Fallujah with the bloody face and the cigarette, but that’s all just propaganda man. Proper, modern warfare is a lot more like playing Command and Conquer.”

Why Won’t Big Automakers Build the Car of the Future?

Jason Fagone Wired
The big automakers aren’t rethinking the automobile from scratch, from the ground up. They’ll bolt the future onto the bones of the past. And if the big guys won’t lead, the little guys will.

Friday Nite Videos -- Dec 6, 2013 (Mandela)

Portside
Music has always been a powerful expression and organizing tool of the oppressed people of South Africa. Here is music inspired by and supporting their struggles, including the artists Hugh Masakela, Abdullah Ibrahim, Johnny Clegg and Gil Scott-Heron.

Celebrating the Life and Work of Nelson Mandela; Nelson Mandela Statement from the Dock in the Rivonia Trial

COSATU; Nelson Mandela
South Africa and the world today mourn the death of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela - leader in the fight against apartheid, head of the ANC and first president of a free South Africa. Statement by COSATU - The Congress of South African Trade Unions - "the greatest ever South African and most inspirational leader in our struggle for liberty and democracy..." Mandela's speech, "I Am Prepared to Die." from the dock in the Rivonia Trial in 1964 (full text and audio recording).

Tidbits - December 5, 2013

Portside
Reader Comments - Philippine Recovery and Climate Change; Human Origins; "Strange Fruit;" North Carolina; Delbert Tibbs; Adjunct Unions; Corporate Profits-great infographic; South Africa - COSATU-ANC-SACP Alliance; Education; Healthcare; ALEC; Occupy; Steve Kindred; Race and Cuba; Announcements - The Invention of the White Race; Celebrating the Life of Father Paul Mayer; Pete Seeger's new book

Profile in Courage - WikiLeak's Sarah Harrison

John Goetz and Bastian Obermayer Süddeutsche Zeitung
An interview with Sarah Harrison of Wikileaks: Julian Assange's associate and Edward Snowden's guardian angel. She spent the last four months with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and arrived in Germany over the weekend. "When whistleblowers come forward we need to fight for them, so others will be encouraged. When they are gagged, we must be their voice. When they are hunted, we must be their shield. When they are locked away, we must free them."

So, Do You Want War With Iran?

Bill Fletcher Jr., Black Commentator Editorial Board The Black Commentator
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his friends in the Republican Party here in the USA want a war with Iran. There really is no other conclusion.