Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling, and the Connections Between Hollywood and the National Security State, with Alan MacLeod

The Department of Defense has been involved in the production of over 800 movies and over 1,100 U.S. TV shows.

Lowkey
By Lowkey

Both “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson and the book’s author, J.K. Rowling, have been courting controversy: the former for posting a message of solidarity with the Palestinian people on her official Instagram page; the latter after comedian Jon Stewart took her to task for the insensitive and antisemitic portrayal of goblins in her book and movie

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Closer Scrutiny Reveals How Close To State Power Sacha Baron Cohen Really Is

MintPress reviewed documents and spoke to a former CIA agent who worked with Sacha Baron Cohen to reveal how the famed actor worked with the national security state to sell America’s wars.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Sacha Baron Cohen Feature Photo

MINNEAPOLIS – Sacha Baron Cohen is widely hailed as a comedic genius, using his sheer audacity to mock the absurdity of his targets. The creator of Ali G, Borat and Brüno has become one of Hollywood’s hottest commodities. Yet his outrageous stunts often belie his agenda and his own proximity to state power. Baron Cohen is often reluctant to make

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Imagining a Department of Actual Defense in a Time of Coronavirus

The microscopic little coronavirus is showing once again the failure and limitations of militarism in addressing the pressing issues facing humanity.

David Swanson
By David Swanson
coronavirus Army Feature photo

(DavidSwanson.org) -- When a few thousand people were murdered on September 11, 2001, I was actually stupid enough – I kid you not – to imagine that the general public would conclude that because massive military forces, nuclear arsenals, and foreign bases had done nothing to prevent and much to provoke those crimes, the U.S. government would need

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A New US Air Force Video Game Lets You Drone Bomb Iraqis and Afghans

The U.S. Air Force recently unveiled its newest recruitment tool, an online video game that lets you carry out targeted killings by drone in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Airman Challenge Video Game Feature photo

The United States Air Force has a new recruitment tool: a realistic drone operator video game you can play on its website. Called the Airman Challenge, it features 16 missions to complete, interspersed with facts and recruitment information about how to become a drone operator yourself. In its latest attempts to market active service to young

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The CIA’s Jack Ryan Series Is ‘Regime-Change’ Propaganda Aimed At Venezuela

Dr. Matthew Alford of the University of Bath told MintPress that the new Amazon product is a “disgrace of a series,” unfairly demonizing a nation at a time when the United States has its boot on the throat of Venezuelan society.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Jack Ryan Venezuela Feature photo

The second season of the big budget series Jack Ryan has just debuted across multiple platforms. Described as “the huge hit that Amazon has been hoping for,” the series follows the story of an eponymous CIA agent as he attempts to overthrow ruthless Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Reyes. Reyes, we learn, has acquired a nuclear weapon from Russia and is

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On Earth Day, Remembering the US Military’s Toxic Legacy

On Earth Day, MintPress brings you a piece originally published last May, on the U.S. Department of Defense’s toxic legacy throughout the world. The DoD produces more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Spent shell casings from firing practice litter the desert of the U.S. Marine Corps' Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California. (AP/Reed Saxon)

Media outlets gave minimal attention to recent news that the U.S. Naval station in Virginia Beach spilled an estimated 94,000 gallons of jet fuel into a nearby waterway, less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. While the incident was by no means as catastrophic as some other pipeline spills, it underscores an important yet little-known fact – that

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