By Rory O'Connor
September 23, 2010
On Aug. 29, 2008, just prior to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, presidential candidate John McCain announced he had chosen Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Read on.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The No-Longer Endless Summers
By Danny Schechter
September 23, 2010
As the November election approaches, the White House seems to be ending its Rip Van Winkle-like slumber and has begun crawling out of the bubble of its own making. Many fear it’s a bit late.
Read on.
September 23, 2010
As the November election approaches, the White House seems to be ending its Rip Van Winkle-like slumber and has begun crawling out of the bubble of its own making. Many fear it’s a bit late.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Losing Ahmadinejad's Translation
By Lawrence Davidson
September 22, 2010
September 22, 2010
Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was at the United Nations on Tuesday to address the Millennium Development Goals Summit. What he had to say was, as usual, a mixed bag of worthwhile insights and questionable assertions.
Read on.Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Ed Newman, a Newsman's Newsman
By Michael Winship
September 21, 2010
I was in London last week when news came of the death of the great NBC newsman Edwin Newman, 91 years old.
Read on.
September 21, 2010
I was in London last week when news came of the death of the great NBC newsman Edwin Newman, 91 years old.
Read on.
Colin Powell's Tolerance of Murder
By Robert Parry
September 21, 2010
Former Secretary of State and retired four-star Gen. Colin Powell has returned as the Washington media's favorite oracle, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to tell President Barack Obama, the Republican Party and the nation what they should be doing. That has been followed by media figures like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews swooning at the revealed wisdom from the ultimate Wise Man.
Read on.
September 21, 2010
Former Secretary of State and retired four-star Gen. Colin Powell has returned as the Washington media's favorite oracle, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to tell President Barack Obama, the Republican Party and the nation what they should be doing. That has been followed by media figures like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews swooning at the revealed wisdom from the ultimate Wise Man.
Read on.
Monday, September 20, 2010
How Gen. Petraeus Deceived Obama
By Gareth Porter
September 20, 2010
September 20, 2010
In interviews in recent weeks, Gen. David Petraeus has been taking a line on what will happen in mid-2011 that challenges President Barack Obama’s announced intention to begin a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by that date.
TNR's Peretz Reveals Mideast Bigotry
By Lawrence Davidson
September 20, 2010
Martin Peretz is editor-in-chief of The New Republic, a position he acquired by simply buying the magazine in 1974. Although he resold it to a group of investors in 2002, they were, and apparently remain, his ideological soul mates for he continues to this day to be the magazine’s top editor.
Read on.
September 20, 2010
Martin Peretz is editor-in-chief of The New Republic, a position he acquired by simply buying the magazine in 1974. Although he resold it to a group of investors in 2002, they were, and apparently remain, his ideological soul mates for he continues to this day to be the magazine’s top editor.
Read on.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Lee Hamilton, the Un-Wise Man
By Robert Parry
September 17, 2010
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius has become the latest voice of influence to sing the praises of former Rep. Lee Hamilton, who is almost universally hailed in U.S. power circles as a modern-day Wise Man, a Democratic centrist who shuns partisanship and puts love of country over politics.
Read on.
September 17, 2010
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius has become the latest voice of influence to sing the praises of former Rep. Lee Hamilton, who is almost universally hailed in U.S. power circles as a modern-day Wise Man, a Democratic centrist who shuns partisanship and puts love of country over politics.
Read on.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Nixon's Vengeful War on Marijuana
By William John Cox
September 16, 2010
September 16, 2010
In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond P. Shafer to chair a national commission to report on the effects of marijuana and other drugs and recommend appropriate drug policies. Though Shafer was a former prosecutor and was known as a "law and order" governor, he did not give Nixon the alarmist findings that the President wanted.
The Great Muslim Scare
By Lawrence Davidson
September 16, 2010
In 1951, American working-class intellectual Eric Hoffer described those he called the “true believers,” people who start out alienated from their present conditions and suffering feelings of insecurity and uncertainty about the direction of their lives and communities.
Read on.
September 16, 2010
In 1951, American working-class intellectual Eric Hoffer described those he called the “true believers,” people who start out alienated from their present conditions and suffering feelings of insecurity and uncertainty about the direction of their lives and communities.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
America's Decoupling from Reality
By Robert Parry
September 15, 2010
September 15, 2010
As Election Day 2010 approaches – as the United States wallows in the swamps of war, recession and environmental degradation – the consequences of the nation’s three-decade-old decoupling from reality are becoming painfully obvious.
Read on.Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Great Britain's Brave New World
By Danny Schechter
September 14, 2010
London looks pretty much like it did the last time I was here except for all the closed stores and businesses I passed on the way to the War and Media Conference that brought me here.
Read on.
September 14, 2010
London looks pretty much like it did the last time I was here except for all the closed stores and businesses I passed on the way to the War and Media Conference that brought me here.
Read on.
GOP Leaders Embrace Ugly Intolerance
By Michael Winship
September 14, 2010
Gentlemen, start your defibrillators. To baby boomers like me it gives the heart a bit of jolt to realize that 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the presidential campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.
Read on.
September 14, 2010
Gentlemen, start your defibrillators. To baby boomers like me it gives the heart a bit of jolt to realize that 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the presidential campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.
Read on.
Rory Kennedy's "The Fence"
Has US Empire Benefited the World?
By Ivan Eland
September 14, 2010
In a recent column, Thomas Friedman, probably the most influential “internationalist” — read: proponent of U.S. interventionism in faraway places — has finally discovered that the United States must soon turn inward and put domestic economic growth first because of its massive public debt, huge federal budget deficit, and looming fiscal crisis caused by a dramatic automatic escalation in entitlements spending.
Read on.
September 14, 2010
In a recent column, Thomas Friedman, probably the most influential “internationalist” — read: proponent of U.S. interventionism in faraway places — has finally discovered that the United States must soon turn inward and put domestic economic growth first because of its massive public debt, huge federal budget deficit, and looming fiscal crisis caused by a dramatic automatic escalation in entitlements spending.
Read on.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Marijuana 'Prohibition' on CA's Ballot
By Kevin Zeese
September 13, 2010
Since the founding of the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1973, 15 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana.
Read on.
September 13, 2010
Since the founding of the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1973, 15 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana.
Read on.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
US Hypocrisy Hobbles Human Rights
By Lawrence Davidson
September 12, 2010
On Aug. 23, Israel’s most prestigious human rights organization, B’Tselem released a short report on the condition of water supplies in the Gaza Strip.
Read on.
September 12, 2010
On Aug. 23, Israel’s most prestigious human rights organization, B’Tselem released a short report on the condition of water supplies in the Gaza Strip.
Read on.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Would Jesus Hate Muslims?
By Rev. Howard Bess
September 11, 2010
Early in the 21st century, America is being gripped by xenophobia, the fear of strangers or foreigners, or more broadly the fear of the unfamiliar.
Read on.
September 11, 2010
Early in the 21st century, America is being gripped by xenophobia, the fear of strangers or foreigners, or more broadly the fear of the unfamiliar.
Read on.
America's Excessive Fear of the World
By Jonathan Schwarz
September 11, 2010
The question of whether America is safer today is sort of strange, for two reasons.
Read on.
September 11, 2010
The question of whether America is safer today is sort of strange, for two reasons.
Read on.
After 9/11, Making Matters Worse
By Melvin A. Goodman
September 11, 2010
The terrorist attacks on Washington and New York City nine years ago extracted a terrible price in terms of blood and treasure. Unfortunately, the U.S. reaction to 9/11 has also extracted a terrible price with no end in sight.
Read on.
September 11, 2010
The terrorist attacks on Washington and New York City nine years ago extracted a terrible price in terms of blood and treasure. Unfortunately, the U.S. reaction to 9/11 has also extracted a terrible price with no end in sight.
Read on.
NYT Pushes Confrontation with Iran
By Robert Parry
September 11, 2010
Apparently having learned no lessons from the Iraq WMD debacle, the New York Times is pushing for a heightened confrontation with Iran, slipping into the same kind of hysteria that it and other major U.S. news organizations displayed in 2002 and 2003.
Read on.
September 11, 2010
Apparently having learned no lessons from the Iraq WMD debacle, the New York Times is pushing for a heightened confrontation with Iran, slipping into the same kind of hysteria that it and other major U.S. news organizations displayed in 2002 and 2003.
Read on.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Hillary's Imperial Dream Meets Reality
By Danny Schechter
September 10, 2010
September 10, 2010
Oh, Hamid, Oh Hillary: How your worlds converge and diverge.
Islam Basher Claims to Unmask Cleric
By Robert Parry
September 10, 2010
Last month, Steve Emerson, a propagandist with close ties to Israel’s Likud and America’s neocons, went on a national radio program and claimed that Islamic cleric Feisal Abdul Rauf would likely not “survive” Emerson’s disclosure of supposedly radical comments that Rauf made a half decade ago.
Read on.
September 10, 2010
Last month, Steve Emerson, a propagandist with close ties to Israel’s Likud and America’s neocons, went on a national radio program and claimed that Islamic cleric Feisal Abdul Rauf would likely not “survive” Emerson’s disclosure of supposedly radical comments that Rauf made a half decade ago.
Read on.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Toning Down the 9/11 Tirades
By Michael Winship
September 9, 2010
This past Sunday was beautiful, bright and warm, not unlike the sky blue day when those two airliners hit the World Trade Center in 2001, just a mile or so from where I live. That day, a Tuesday, was a bit hotter, a bit more humid, yet just as sunny and promising.
Read on.
September 9, 2010
This past Sunday was beautiful, bright and warm, not unlike the sky blue day when those two airliners hit the World Trade Center in 2001, just a mile or so from where I live. That day, a Tuesday, was a bit hotter, a bit more humid, yet just as sunny and promising.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
The Value of Real Journalism
By Mort Rosenblum
September 8, 2010
The University of Colorado is scrapping journalism for communications. At least, I think they are.
Read on.
September 8, 2010
The University of Colorado is scrapping journalism for communications. At least, I think they are.
Read on.
Iraq Pullout v. the Base Temptation
By Ivan Eland
September 8, 2010
As President Obama gave a self-congratulatory speech about keeping his campaign promise to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of August, he accomplished this feat by merely redefining the mission of the 50,000 combat-trained U.S. forces remaining there to “advising and assisting” Iraqi forces.
Read on.
September 8, 2010
As President Obama gave a self-congratulatory speech about keeping his campaign promise to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of August, he accomplished this feat by merely redefining the mission of the 50,000 combat-trained U.S. forces remaining there to “advising and assisting” Iraqi forces.
Read on.
Why the Israeli Boycott Is Growing
By Lawrence Davidson
September 8, 2010
On Sunday, the Israel newspaper Haaretz published an article with the headline "Anti-Israel Economic Boycotts are Gaining Speed" and with the subtitle, "the sums involved are not large, but their international significance is huge."
Read on.
September 8, 2010
On Sunday, the Israel newspaper Haaretz published an article with the headline "Anti-Israel Economic Boycotts are Gaining Speed" and with the subtitle, "the sums involved are not large, but their international significance is huge."
Read on.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Petraeus Spins the Afghan War Mess
By Barbara Koeppel
September 7, 2010
A few weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus pulled off a flawless remake of Gen. William Westmoreland’s 1967 performance in which the Vietnam War commander detected “light at the end of the tunnel” – just months before the Viet Cong launched its Tet offensive, proving the resistance was very much alive and well.
Read on.
September 7, 2010
A few weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus pulled off a flawless remake of Gen. William Westmoreland’s 1967 performance in which the Vietnam War commander detected “light at the end of the tunnel” – just months before the Viet Cong launched its Tet offensive, proving the resistance was very much alive and well.
Read on.
Banksters Steal Away with the Loot
By Danny Schechter
September 7, 2010
Ben Affleck’s next movie, “The Town,” is set in Charlestown, Massachusetts, known for the battle of Bunker Hill and dubbed in the past by tabloid TV as “hell’s half acre” for all the crimes that take place there.
Read on.
September 7, 2010
Ben Affleck’s next movie, “The Town,” is set in Charlestown, Massachusetts, known for the battle of Bunker Hill and dubbed in the past by tabloid TV as “hell’s half acre” for all the crimes that take place there.
Read on.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Blair Reveals Cheney's War Agenda
By Robert Parry
September 6, 2010
Ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s new memoir offers the expected rationalizations for his joining in an illegal, aggressive war against Iraq, even to the point of quibbling about the death toll. But Blair does reveal how much more war was favored by Vice President Dick Cheney and the neocons.
Read on.
September 6, 2010
Ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s new memoir offers the expected rationalizations for his joining in an illegal, aggressive war against Iraq, even to the point of quibbling about the death toll. But Blair does reveal how much more war was favored by Vice President Dick Cheney and the neocons.
Read on.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Must the Bible Remain 'Holy'?
By the Rev. Howard Bess
September 5, 2010
Christianity is in a great state of flux, exceeding even the diversity that came out of the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago. Today’s upheaval is fostered by the Internet and its free flow of information and opinions.
Read on.
September 5, 2010
Christianity is in a great state of flux, exceeding even the diversity that came out of the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago. Today’s upheaval is fostered by the Internet and its free flow of information and opinions.
Read on.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
CIA's 'Red Cell' Hypocrisy on Terror
By Robert Parry
September 4, 2010
The Central Intelligence Agency has scoffed at an internal memo that cites a few terrorist acts by some American citizens as possibly causing foreign nations to see the United States as an “exporter of terrorism.” The CIA notes that the paper came from its “red cell” analysts who are assigned to “think outside the box” to “provoke thought.”
Read on.
September 4, 2010
The Central Intelligence Agency has scoffed at an internal memo that cites a few terrorist acts by some American citizens as possibly causing foreign nations to see the United States as an “exporter of terrorism.” The CIA notes that the paper came from its “red cell” analysts who are assigned to “think outside the box” to “provoke thought.”
Read on.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Recession Snuffs Out New Media Hope
By Danny Schechter
September 3, 2010
When your life and your work is as entwined as mine has been – fusing the personal and the political over all these years – it may be stretching things to consider yourself unemployed, but that’s what I am as Labor Day approaches.
Read on.
September 3, 2010
When your life and your work is as entwined as mine has been – fusing the personal and the political over all these years – it may be stretching things to consider yourself unemployed, but that’s what I am as Labor Day approaches.
Read on.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Posturing on the PanAm 103 'Bomber'
By William Blum
September 2, 2010
The British government recently warned Libya against celebrating the one-year anniversary of Scotland's release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan who's the only person ever convicted of the 1988 blowing up of PanAm flight 103 over Scotland, which took the lives of 270 largely Americans and British.
Read on.
September 2, 2010
The British government recently warned Libya against celebrating the one-year anniversary of Scotland's release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan who's the only person ever convicted of the 1988 blowing up of PanAm flight 103 over Scotland, which took the lives of 270 largely Americans and British.
Read on.
WikiLeaks and Defining 'Journalism'
By D.H. Kerby
September 2, 2010
September 2, 2010
There is a strong intuition among the American people that there is a fundamental difference between publishing a secret for all the world to read and secretly informing an enemy of a secret.
Will US Really Prosecute WikiLeaks?
By Ivan Eland
September 2, 2010
The U.S. Justice Department is apparently considering prosecuting Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, which is a Web site that publishes classified documents from governments, under the rarely used Espionage Act of 1917.
Read on.
September 2, 2010
The U.S. Justice Department is apparently considering prosecuting Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, which is a Web site that publishes classified documents from governments, under the rarely used Espionage Act of 1917.
Read on.
The Afghan Pincer Attack on Obama
By Melvin A. Goodman
September 2, 2010
The "double envelopment" or pincer movement is a classic military maneuver that finds the flanks of the opponent under simultaneous attack from the opposing forces.
Read on.
September 2, 2010
The "double envelopment" or pincer movement is a classic military maneuver that finds the flanks of the opponent under simultaneous attack from the opposing forces.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
How the Right Still Frames Iraq
By Robert Parry
September 1, 2010
President Barack Obama’s instruction to “turn the page” on the Iraq War has set off a new wave of frustration on the American Left, which believes that the architects of this war of aggression should face some accountability for the death and destruction.
Read on.
September 1, 2010
President Barack Obama’s instruction to “turn the page” on the Iraq War has set off a new wave of frustration on the American Left, which believes that the architects of this war of aggression should face some accountability for the death and destruction.
Read on.
Obama Sugarcoats Iraq War Realities
By David Swanson
September 1, 2010
September 1, 2010
Lies aren't used just to start wars, but also to escalate them, continue them, and even reduce or end them. And we got a pile of war lies from President Barack Obama on Tuesday evening.
Beck's Washington Monument Myth
By Jonathan Schwarz
September 1, 2010
I realize this isn't breaking news, but...listening to Glenn Beck is the mental equivalent of falling into a vat of Karo syrup. You thrash around, can't get out, and feel like you're going to die in the most insipid way possible.
Read on.
September 1, 2010
I realize this isn't breaking news, but...listening to Glenn Beck is the mental equivalent of falling into a vat of Karo syrup. You thrash around, can't get out, and feel like you're going to die in the most insipid way possible.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Beck and the American Know-Nothings
By Michael Winship
August 31, 2010
Watching Glenn Beck's performance Saturday at his "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington, DC, I thought of the novelist Sinclair Lewis' Elmer Gantry, the charlatan evangelist who seduces most of those around him with his hearty backslapping and false piety.
Read on.
August 31, 2010
Watching Glenn Beck's performance Saturday at his "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington, DC, I thought of the novelist Sinclair Lewis' Elmer Gantry, the charlatan evangelist who seduces most of those around him with his hearty backslapping and false piety.
Read on.
War on Terror: Greatest Covert Op Ever
By Douglas Valentine
August 31, 2010
The politics of terror are the greatest covert operation ever.
Read on.
August 31, 2010
The politics of terror are the greatest covert operation ever.
Read on.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Obama vs. the Generals
By Rory O'Connor
August 30, 2010
On Feb. 27, 2009, barely a month after entering the White House, President Barack Obama revealed his plans for completing the combat portion of America’s ongoing military involvement in Iraq.
Read on.
August 30, 2010
On Feb. 27, 2009, barely a month after entering the White House, President Barack Obama revealed his plans for completing the combat portion of America’s ongoing military involvement in Iraq.
Read on.
Why US Media Is Soft on Wall Street
By Danny Schechter
August 30, 2010
August 30, 2010
When you connect the dots in your writing or look for deeper explanations behind the decisions of policymakers, market makers and media-makers, it’s easy to be dismissed as a conspiracy nut.
The Christian Right Needs 'Enemies'
By the Rev. Howard Bess
August 30, 2010
At the heart of American Christian Fundamentalism is a basic religious dualism that is obsessed with a never-ending struggle between Good and Evil. These Christian fundamentalists must always have an “enemy” with whom to fight.
Read on.
August 30, 2010
At the heart of American Christian Fundamentalism is a basic religious dualism that is obsessed with a never-ending struggle between Good and Evil. These Christian fundamentalists must always have an “enemy” with whom to fight.
Read on.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Hawks Box in Obama on Afghan War
By Ray McGovern
August 26, 2010
Just back from Afghanistan, Marine Commandant, Gen. James Conway held a news conference to add his voice to the Pentagon campaign to disparage the July 2011 date President Barack Obama set for U.S. troops to begin leaving Afghanistan.
Read on.
August 26, 2010
Just back from Afghanistan, Marine Commandant, Gen. James Conway held a news conference to add his voice to the Pentagon campaign to disparage the July 2011 date President Barack Obama set for U.S. troops to begin leaving Afghanistan.
Read on.
Karl Rove Exploits Corporate Money
By Kevin Zeese
August 26, 2010
In the last week Democrats were gloating about how little money the Republican Party had in its campaign coffers. The Republican National Committee has just over $5 million in the bank for the final stretch of the 2010 midterm election campaign and is carrying over $2 million in debt.
Read on.
August 26, 2010
In the last week Democrats were gloating about how little money the Republican Party had in its campaign coffers. The Republican National Committee has just over $5 million in the bank for the final stretch of the 2010 midterm election campaign and is carrying over $2 million in debt.
Read on.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
At War with American Workers
By Michael Winship
August 25, 2010
August 25, 2010
Among the many TV ad jingles sadly cluttering my brain since childhood (although useful in trivia contests) is the one that went, "The finest apples from Apple Land/Make Mott's Apple Sauce taste grand!"
Twisting Palestinian Arms for Peace
By Lawrence Davidson
August 25, 2010
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has announced that direct "negotiations" between Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will begin on Sept. 2. It is reported that Abbas agreed to these talks only after heavy pressure from both the United States and the European Union.
Read on.
August 25, 2010
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has announced that direct "negotiations" between Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will begin on Sept. 2. It is reported that Abbas agreed to these talks only after heavy pressure from both the United States and the European Union.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Christian Nationalism's War with Islam
By Rev. Howard Bess
August 24, 2010
August 24, 2010
An underlying issue in the dispute over a proposed Islamic center near the site of 9/11’s Ground Zero is the emergence of Christian nationalism, which embraces a vision of the world in which every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Christ is Lord.
Making a 'Mosque' a 'Wedge' Issue
By Ivan Eland
August 24, 2010
The American media, and to a lesser extent the world media, focus on symbolism at the expense of underlying reality. And sometimes they can’t even make sense of the symbolism.
Read on.
August 24, 2010
The American media, and to a lesser extent the world media, focus on symbolism at the expense of underlying reality. And sometimes they can’t even make sense of the symbolism.
Read on.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Turning Iraqi Cities into Slums
Fiddling While the US Economy Burns
By Danny Schechter
August 23, 2010
We know we live in hard times that are on the verge of getting harder with 500,000 new claims for unemployment last week, a recent record.
Read on.
August 23, 2010
We know we live in hard times that are on the verge of getting harder with 500,000 new claims for unemployment last week, a recent record.
Read on.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Transocean Questioned on Burma Deal
By Thomas Maung Shwe
August 20, 2010
U.S.-Swiss drilling company Tranoscean has admitted it is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury over its “operations in Myanmar [Burma]”. The probe comes amid intense public scrutiny since its rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico.
Read on.
August 20, 2010
U.S.-Swiss drilling company Tranoscean has admitted it is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury over its “operations in Myanmar [Burma]”. The probe comes amid intense public scrutiny since its rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico.
Read on.
Spinning the US Failure in Iraq
By Robert Parry
August 20, 2010
When I watched the last U.S. combat battalions leave Iraq on Wednesday night, I couldn’t help but recall the scene when the last Soviet troops departed Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989. In both cases, the two governments soft-pedaled the hard truth about the strategic defeats that the withdrawals represented.
Read on.
August 20, 2010
When I watched the last U.S. combat battalions leave Iraq on Wednesday night, I couldn’t help but recall the scene when the last Soviet troops departed Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989. In both cases, the two governments soft-pedaled the hard truth about the strategic defeats that the withdrawals represented.
Read on.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tea Partiers' Historical Fictions
By Jada Thacker
August 18, 2010
Today’s adherents to the Tea Party movement claim to share common cause with American “Sons of Liberty” rowdies who, on Dec. 16, 1773, dumped about 90,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor.
Read on.
August 18, 2010
Today’s adherents to the Tea Party movement claim to share common cause with American “Sons of Liberty” rowdies who, on Dec. 16, 1773, dumped about 90,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor.
Read on.
Do Religions Reject Gay Marriage?
By Daniel C. Maguire
August 18, 2010
Through much of history, especially prior to the Fourteenth Century, many Christians did not share the view that marriage was a reward for being heterosexual, nor that a same-sex union was objectionable.
Read on.
August 18, 2010
Through much of history, especially prior to the Fourteenth Century, many Christians did not share the view that marriage was a reward for being heterosexual, nor that a same-sex union was objectionable.
Read on.
Mosque Furor Endangers US Troops
By Robert Parry
August 18, 2010
For years, the American Right and neocons have been quick to accuse critics of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars of endangering American troops – by causing disunity, exposing counter-terror techniques, etc. – but these war enthusiasts are now the ones putting the lives of U.S. soldiers in jeopardy.
Read on.
August 18, 2010
For years, the American Right and neocons have been quick to accuse critics of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars of endangering American troops – by causing disunity, exposing counter-terror techniques, etc. – but these war enthusiasts are now the ones putting the lives of U.S. soldiers in jeopardy.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Letting the Banksters 'Settle'
By Danny Schechter
August 17, 2010
Another day, another bank in the news -- with the settlement blues.
Read on.
August 17, 2010
Another day, another bank in the news -- with the settlement blues.
Read on.
Making the US Look Small to the World
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa
August 17, 2010
New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission was right not to designate the building at 45 Park Place, two blocks from Ground Zero, a historical landmark.
Read on.
August 17, 2010
New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission was right not to designate the building at 45 Park Place, two blocks from Ground Zero, a historical landmark.
Read on.
Old-Time Bigotry Alive in America
By Michael Winship
August 17, 2010
As citizens of the nation continue through the summer, distracting themselves from difficult truths by howling at the moon and one another, I spent this past weekend in Manhattan seeing revivals of two classic period pieces of American theater.
Read on.
August 17, 2010
As citizens of the nation continue through the summer, distracting themselves from difficult truths by howling at the moon and one another, I spent this past weekend in Manhattan seeing revivals of two classic period pieces of American theater.
Read on.
The Truth about Pat Tillman's Death
By Rory O'Connor
August 17, 2010
Of the many lies George W. Bush told us about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some were larger but none worse than that told about the death of Pat Tillman.
Read on.
August 17, 2010
Of the many lies George W. Bush told us about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some were larger but none worse than that told about the death of Pat Tillman.
Read on.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Behind a Lethal Israel-Lebanon Clash
By Lawrence Davidson
August 16, 2010
August 16, 2010
On Aug. 3, violence erupted along Lebanon’s southern frontier, followed almost simultaneously by verbal assaults against Lebanon from the U.S. House of Representatives. Lebanon soon lost, at least temporarily, $100 million in U.S. military aid. What is this all about?
Read on.Sunday, August 15, 2010
How Truth Can Save Lives
By Ray McGovern
August 15, 2010
If independent-minded Web sites, like WikiLeaks or, say, Consortiumnews.com, existed 43 years ago, I might have risen to the occasion and helped save the lives of some 25,000 U.S. soldiers, and a million Vietnamese, by exposing the lies contained in just one SECRET/EYES ONLY cable from Saigon.
Read on.
August 15, 2010
If independent-minded Web sites, like WikiLeaks or, say, Consortiumnews.com, existed 43 years ago, I might have risen to the occasion and helped save the lives of some 25,000 U.S. soldiers, and a million Vietnamese, by exposing the lies contained in just one SECRET/EYES ONLY cable from Saigon.
Read on.
Friday, August 13, 2010
US Staggers Toward Dysfunction
By Danny Schechter
August 14, 2010
Financial journalist Charles Gasparino whose career trajectory took him from Newsweek to CNBC to Fox News was on with Bill O’ Reilly doing what the host of the fact-less Factor likes to do the most: promote Fox News.
Read on.
August 14, 2010
Financial journalist Charles Gasparino whose career trajectory took him from Newsweek to CNBC to Fox News was on with Bill O’ Reilly doing what the host of the fact-less Factor likes to do the most: promote Fox News.
Read on.
Gut-Check Time for Progressives
By Don Monkerud
August 13, 2010
Hopes for change are turning to disappointment as Congress fails to meet goals for a progressive agenda.
August 13, 2010
Hopes for change are turning to disappointment as Congress fails to meet goals for a progressive agenda.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A Neocon Preps US for War with Iran
By Ray McGovern
August 12, 2010
I guess I was naïve in thinking that The Atlantic and its American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg might shy away from arguing for yet another war — this one with Iran — while the cauldrons are still boiling in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Read on.
August 12, 2010
I guess I was naïve in thinking that The Atlantic and its American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg might shy away from arguing for yet another war — this one with Iran — while the cauldrons are still boiling in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Read on.
Why Israel Wants a US War with Iran
By Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett
August 12, 2010
Amid widespread skepticism that sanctions will stop Tehran's nuclear development and grudging, belated recognition that the Green Movement will not deliver a more pliable Iranian government, a growing number of commentators are asking the question, "What does President Obama do next on Iran?"
Read on.
August 12, 2010
Amid widespread skepticism that sanctions will stop Tehran's nuclear development and grudging, belated recognition that the Green Movement will not deliver a more pliable Iranian government, a growing number of commentators are asking the question, "What does President Obama do next on Iran?"
Read on.
Don't Try These GOP Alibis at Home
By Robert Parry
August 12, 2010
Unless you’re a member of the Bush Family or some other well-connected Republican, it’s not advised that you try the alibis that cleared Ronald Reagan’s campaign in the 1980 October Surprise case. You also would need to make sure that the “investigators” were lame-brained or weak-kneed Democrats.
Read on.
August 12, 2010
Unless you’re a member of the Bush Family or some other well-connected Republican, it’s not advised that you try the alibis that cleared Ronald Reagan’s campaign in the 1980 October Surprise case. You also would need to make sure that the “investigators” were lame-brained or weak-kneed Democrats.
Read on.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Manning, Khadr: Cases of Conscience
By Lawrence Davidson
August 11, 2010
At present there are two young men sitting in prison who have never met but are nonetheless intimately connected.
Read on.
August 11, 2010
At present there are two young men sitting in prison who have never met but are nonetheless intimately connected.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Mosque, the Wall, and America
By Michael Winship
August 10, 2010
The current fight over the building of an Islamic study center near Ground Zero in Manhattan is reminiscent of another battle nearly 30 years ago. Then, too, ignorance, rage and prejudice threatened to destroy the creation of something intended to help mend a grievous wound and foster understanding and reconciliation.
Read on.
August 10, 2010
The current fight over the building of an Islamic study center near Ground Zero in Manhattan is reminiscent of another battle nearly 30 years ago. Then, too, ignorance, rage and prejudice threatened to destroy the creation of something intended to help mend a grievous wound and foster understanding and reconciliation.
Read on.
The Dual Realities of Israel/Palestine
By Lawrence Davidson
August 10, 2010
On Aug. 5, 2010 Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, citing a Fars (Iran) news service story, reported that a non-governmental organization in Iran had "launched a Website with cartoons on the Holocaust aimed at undermining the historic dimensions of the mass murder of Jews."
Read on.
August 10, 2010
On Aug. 5, 2010 Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, citing a Fars (Iran) news service story, reported that a non-governmental organization in Iran had "launched a Website with cartoons on the Holocaust aimed at undermining the historic dimensions of the mass murder of Jews."
Read on.
Hard Choices in Iraq and Afghanistan
By Ivan Eland
August 10, 2010
As President Obama pooh-poohed as old news the many WikiLeaks documents showing the sad state of the conflict in Afghanistan, the chief executive also began an entire month of crowing about keeping his campaign promise to “bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end.”
Read on.
August 10, 2010
As President Obama pooh-poohed as old news the many WikiLeaks documents showing the sad state of the conflict in Afghanistan, the chief executive also began an entire month of crowing about keeping his campaign promise to “bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end.”
Read on.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Is Anti-Tax Rage Fueled by Racism?
By Jay Diamond
August 9, 2010
The momentum, the mass and the driving force behind the anti-tax, anti-government cult of the last 30 years has been RACISM.
Read on.
August 9, 2010
The momentum, the mass and the driving force behind the anti-tax, anti-government cult of the last 30 years has been RACISM.
Read on.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Lack of Jobs Kills Hope of Recovery
By Danny Schechter
August 9, 2010
August 9, 2010
In Washington, the Obama economic team has sprung a leak. First, Budget Director Peter Orszag, the calculating numbers savant, bailed. And now, “distinguished” economist Christina Romer, the only woman in that inner circle boys club has quit too.
Reflections on the Ninth of August
By Gary G. Kohls
August 8, 2010
On the 9th of August 1945, an all-Christian B-29 bomber crew took off from Tinian Island in the South Pacific with the blessings of Catholic and Protestant chaplains.
Read on.
August 8, 2010
On the 9th of August 1945, an all-Christian B-29 bomber crew took off from Tinian Island in the South Pacific with the blessings of Catholic and Protestant chaplains.
Read on.
Pfc. Manning and the Value of Truth
By Ray McGovern
August 8, 2010
August 8, 2010
We are living in a liminal time, that is to say we live on the threshold. So much that we have taken for granted is passing.
Read on.Friday, August 06, 2010
Letting Torturers Go Free
By Sherwood Ross
August 6, 2010
Although U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in American custody to a handful of maverick guards or limited to a few “high-value detainees,” such criminal acts were widely perpetrated, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests.
Read on.
August 6, 2010
Although U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in American custody to a handful of maverick guards or limited to a few “high-value detainees,” such criminal acts were widely perpetrated, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests.
Read on.
October Surprise Cover-up Unravels
By Robert Parry
August 6, 2010
Not to belabor a point, but some die-hard defenders of the October Surprise cover-up continue to insist that there is real evidence debunking the now overwhelming case that Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign interfered with President Jimmy Carter’s negotiations to free 52 American hostages then held in Iran.
Read on.
August 6, 2010
Not to belabor a point, but some die-hard defenders of the October Surprise cover-up continue to insist that there is real evidence debunking the now overwhelming case that Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign interfered with President Jimmy Carter’s negotiations to free 52 American hostages then held in Iran.
Read on.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
The Pleasantly Surprising 'Green Zone'
By David Swanson
August 5, 2010
August 5, 2010
I expected to be disappointed by "Green Zone.” I mean the movie, not the chunk of Baghdad we've spent seven years and trillions of dollars killing over a million people to steal for an "embassy" containing 21 buildings on 104 acres.
Read on.Accusation of October Surprise Lying
By Robert Parry
August 5, 2010
August 5, 2010
Lawrence Barcella, who was chief counsel of the October Surprise investigation, has accused me of lying about him when I wrote that he decided to “hide” a report from the Russian government that contradicted his conclusion of “no credible evidence” that Ronald Reagan’s campaign sabotaged President Jimmy Carter’s attempts to free 52 Americans held hostage in Iran in 1980.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Is Iran, like Iraq, 'Asking for War'?
By William Blum
August 4, 2010
August 4, 2010
If and when the United States and Israel bomb Iran (marking the sixth country so blessed by Barack Obama) – and this sad old world has a new daily horror show to look at on their TV sets – and we then discover that Iran was not actually building nuclear weapons after all, the American mainstream media and the benighted American mind will ask: "Why didn't they tell us that? Did they want us to bomb them?"
Palin, Summers and the Crisis of Kitsch
By Phil Rockstroh
August 4, 2010
Given the level of cultural absurdity at large, both the commercially tormented landscape and the mass media dominated mindscape of the United States seem a Gogol goof-take.
Read on.
August 4, 2010
Given the level of cultural absurdity at large, both the commercially tormented landscape and the mass media dominated mindscape of the United States seem a Gogol goof-take.
Read on.
George Shultz's Counterfeit 'Coin'
By Robert Parry
August 4, 2010
Official Washington’s favorite quote from the Iran-Contra scandal was from Secretary of State George Shultz who famously assured congressional investigators that “trust is the coin of the realm.” What is never acknowledged is that Shultz's coin was counterfeit, that he then lied through his teeth.
Read on.
August 4, 2010
Official Washington’s favorite quote from the Iran-Contra scandal was from Secretary of State George Shultz who famously assured congressional investigators that “trust is the coin of the realm.” What is never acknowledged is that Shultz's coin was counterfeit, that he then lied through his teeth.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
GOP Eyes Big Gains Over the Economy
By Stephen Crockett
August 3, 2010
It seems like the Republicans in Congress have decided that sabotaging economic recovery and employment growth is their best tactic for electoral gains in the November elections.
Read on.
August 3, 2010
It seems like the Republicans in Congress have decided that sabotaging economic recovery and employment growth is their best tactic for electoral gains in the November elections.
Read on.
Obama Warned Israel May Bomb Iran
By Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (to President Obama)
August 3, 2010
We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war.
Read on.
August 3, 2010
We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war.
Read on.
Can US Live with a Taliban Revival?
By Ivan Eland
August 3, 2010
The 92,000 classified U.S. government documents leaked to WikiLeaks.org didn’t reveal many new shocking truths about the U.S. military quagmire in Afghanistan.
Read on.
August 3, 2010
The 92,000 classified U.S. government documents leaked to WikiLeaks.org didn’t reveal many new shocking truths about the U.S. military quagmire in Afghanistan.
Read on.
Wall Street's Collapse, 3 Years Later
By Danny Schechter
August 3, 2010
We live in the United States of Amnesia and selective memory. As we debate the breaking news, we easily forget the sequence of events that broke the banks and left us broke.
Read on.
August 3, 2010
We live in the United States of Amnesia and selective memory. As we debate the breaking news, we easily forget the sequence of events that broke the banks and left us broke.
Read on.
Monday, August 02, 2010
WikiLeaks Filled a Journalistic Void
By Mort Rosenblum
August 2, 2010
"Vietraqistan," the chapter on war reporting in Little Bunch of Madmen, explains why WikiLeaks.org is so dangerous and yet - given the Pentagon's news management - also so necessary.
Read on.
August 2, 2010
"Vietraqistan," the chapter on war reporting in Little Bunch of Madmen, explains why WikiLeaks.org is so dangerous and yet - given the Pentagon's news management - also so necessary.
Read on.
Washington's Ethical Double Standard
By Robert Parry
August 2, 2010
August 2, 2010
As two longtime members of the Congressional Black Caucus – Charles Rangel and Maxine Waters – are dragged into the public square to be punished for alleged ethical indiscretions, it may be worth remembering how Official Washington responded to evidence that President George W. Bush aided and abetted his corrupt benefactors at Enron.
Read on.Sunday, August 01, 2010
Jesus's Unsettling Lessons for America
By Rev. Howard Bess
August 1, 2010
Typical Christians are very selective in their Bible reading. The parts in which believers find affirmation, they are quick to quote. Bible portions that confront them and their chosen lifestyles are conveniently ignored.
Read on.
August 1, 2010
Typical Christians are very selective in their Bible reading. The parts in which believers find affirmation, they are quick to quote. Bible portions that confront them and their chosen lifestyles are conveniently ignored.
Read on.
Making an Example of Charlie Rangel
By Danny Schechter
August 1, 2010
Charles Rangel must die, politically that is. He has become an embarrassment to a House Speaker who vowed to “clean the swamp” of congressional corruption.
Read on.
August 1, 2010
Charles Rangel must die, politically that is. He has become an embarrassment to a House Speaker who vowed to “clean the swamp” of congressional corruption.
Read on.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Neocons Still Angle for War with Iran
By Gareth Porter
July 31, 2010
Reuel Marc Gerecht's screed justifying a prospective Israeli bombing attack on Iran coincides with the opening of the new Israel lobby campaign marked by the introduction of House Resolution 1553 expressing full support for such an Israeli attack.
Read on.
July 31, 2010
Reuel Marc Gerecht's screed justifying a prospective Israeli bombing attack on Iran coincides with the opening of the new Israel lobby campaign marked by the introduction of House Resolution 1553 expressing full support for such an Israeli attack.
Read on.
A Neocon Re-write of American History
By Robert Parry
July 31, 2010
On Friday, the Washington Post offered up its typical balance on the “Washington FORUM” page – two articles by former Bush administration officials (Hank Paulson and Michael Gerson) and two articles by prominent neocons (Robert Kagan and Max Boot). But Boot’s opinion piece – advocating never-ending largesse for the U.S. military – was perhaps the most insidious.
Read on.
July 31, 2010
On Friday, the Washington Post offered up its typical balance on the “Washington FORUM” page – two articles by former Bush administration officials (Hank Paulson and Michael Gerson) and two articles by prominent neocons (Robert Kagan and Max Boot). But Boot’s opinion piece – advocating never-ending largesse for the U.S. military – was perhaps the most insidious.
Read on.
Friday, July 30, 2010
To Publish Official Secrets -- or Not
By Robert Parry
July 30, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top Pentagon brass are claiming that the lives of Afghan civilians and U.S. soldiers have been put at risk by the leak of some 92,000 classified documents about the Afghan War, waving the bloody shirt (even if they don’t yet have one).
Read on.
July 30, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top Pentagon brass are claiming that the lives of Afghan civilians and U.S. soldiers have been put at risk by the leak of some 92,000 classified documents about the Afghan War, waving the bloody shirt (even if they don’t yet have one).
Read on.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Truth Behind the Tea Parties
By Don Monkerud
July 29, 2010
Current attempts to revive that Boston Tea Party of 1773 are marketing gimmicks to masquerade conservative forces bent on defeating Obama and destroying any attempt to reform the present
gridlock political system.
Read on.
July 29, 2010
Current attempts to revive that Boston Tea Party of 1773 are marketing gimmicks to masquerade conservative forces bent on defeating Obama and destroying any attempt to reform the present
gridlock political system.
Read on.
The Intellectual Mystery of 'Inception'
By Lisa Pease
July 29, 2010
“Inception” is a frontrunner for awards this year, for a number of factors. The film exists primarily in dream worlds, so the visuals are stunning and surprising. The acting is superb across the board. The story is both intellectually complex and emotionally engaging.
Read on.
July 29, 2010
“Inception” is a frontrunner for awards this year, for a number of factors. The film exists primarily in dream worlds, so the visuals are stunning and surprising. The acting is superb across the board. The story is both intellectually complex and emotionally engaging.
Read on.
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