By Michael Winship
October 27, 2010
I attended a screening this week of Alex Gibney’s new documentary, Client 9. It’s the story of the rise and fall of New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer, brought down by imperial hubris and a reckless penchant for ladies of the evening.
Read on.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
WPost Downplays Iraq War Crimes
By Robert Parry
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
The judges at Nuremberg after World War II had a much deeper understanding of the horrors of war than the neocon editors at the Washington Post do. Assessing the barbarity unleashed by the Nazis, the Nuremberg Tribunal identified “war of aggression” as “the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”
Creating a Lawless Executive Branch
By Lawrence Davidson
October 26, 2010
One of the cases the U.S. Supreme Court will take up in its 2011 session is Ashcroft vs. al-Kidd, in which President George W. Bush’s first Attorney General, John Ashcroft, insists that he should have legal immunity for his acts while in office, including the use of material witness warrants to detain Muslims during Bush’s “war on terror.”
October 26, 2010
One of the cases the U.S. Supreme Court will take up in its 2011 session is Ashcroft vs. al-Kidd, in which President George W. Bush’s first Attorney General, John Ashcroft, insists that he should have legal immunity for his acts while in office, including the use of material witness warrants to detain Muslims during Bush’s “war on terror.”
The US Empire's Halloween Frights
By Phil Rockstroh
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
Because, at this time of the year, we take pleasure in being frightened, let's shuffle through the U.S. Empire's House of Horrors.
Monday, October 25, 2010
ADL Sidles Up to Anti-Muslim Bigots
By Morgan Strong
October 25, 2010
October 25, 2010
For decades, the Anti-Defamation League was a respected voice against anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. However, over the past several decades, especially under the leadership of Abraham Foxman, the ADL has transformed itself into an advocacy group on behalf of Israeli government policies, even feeding anti-Islamic prejudices.
Undercounting the Iraq War Dead
By Nicolas J S Davies
October 25, 2010
October 25, 2010
The documents on the U.S. War in Iraq published by WikiLeaks contained data on 15,000 Iraqis killed in incidents that were previously unreported in the Western media or by the Iraqi Health Ministry, and therefore not counted in compilations of reported Iraqi war deaths by Iraqbodycount.org.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Records Cast Doubt on Iraq 'Surge'
By Robert Parry
October 24, 2010
October 24, 2010
Besides offering new details about the horrors that George W. Bush’s invasion unleashed on Iraq – where a severed head could be casually tossed into a busy intersection – the nearly 400,000 pages of secret U.S. military records released by WikiLeaks show that a variety of factors beyond Bush’s much-touted “surge” in 2007 contributed to the gradual drop in violence.
WikiLeaks and Assange Honored
From Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence
October 24, 2010
It seems altogether fitting and proper that this year’s award be presented in London, where Edmund Burke coined the expression “Fourth Estate.” Comparing the function of the press to that of the three Houses then in Parliament, Burke said:
Read on.
October 24, 2010
It seems altogether fitting and proper that this year’s award be presented in London, where Edmund Burke coined the expression “Fourth Estate.” Comparing the function of the press to that of the three Houses then in Parliament, Burke said:
Read on.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
A Perjurer on the US Supreme Court
By Robert Parry
October 23, 2010
October 23, 2010
In late 1998, when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about a sexual affair, many on the Right insisted that the issue wasn’t the sex but the perjury. They are now confronted with a parallel case in which U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas quite clearly perjured himself to get his seat on the bench.
Mystery of American Political Madness
By Bernard Weiner
October 23, 2010
October 23, 2010
Your recent e-mail, wondering "what the f--- is going on" these days, questioning whether we Americans have taken "more than your usual amount of stupid pills," is well deserving of a considered response.
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Financial Puzzle Behind 9/11
By David DeGraw
October 22, 2010
October 22, 2010
During the 1980s and early ’90s, the CIA worked in partnership with BCCI in what was, at the time, the agency’s largest covert operation ever, pumping an estimated $10 billion into funding the Afghan mujahedeen. Through this operation, Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network was formed. Bin Laden had accounts in BCCI and ran CIA/BCCI-funded camps.
Read on.Thursday, October 21, 2010
Is Israel Poisoning the Peace Talks?
By Lawrence Davidson
October 21, 2010
October 21, 2010
Michael Oren is the Israeli ambassador to the United States. This means he stands in a line of foreign diplomats who are often quite out of the ordinary.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tea Party Thuggery as Election Nears
By Michael Winship
October 20, 2010
October 20, 2010
One of the most memorable moments in television coverage of American politics came during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968.
A Clash Over 'Lesser-Evil' Voting
By Robert Parry
October 20, 2010
October 20, 2010
It seems I upset a lot of people with my recent article looking at the four previous times in modern U.S. politics when many on the Left chose to punish the Democrats by casting ballots for third parties or not voting, a tactic under consideration again this year.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Obama's Feckless Afghan Escalation
By Ivan Eland
October 19, 2010
October 19, 2010
The talk in Washington of late has been Bob Woodward’s book Obama’s Wars. The books are piled in the front of every bookstore in town, and people are whispering in the usual “inside baseball” way, about who in the Washington security bureaucracies dissed whom to Woodward.
Read on.Monday, October 18, 2010
Who Will Save Trapped Americans?
By Danny Schechter
October 18, 2010
October 18, 2010
In all of our current economic issues, there is always a “back story, a deeper context” that is usually missing, “disappeared” like those Salvador Allende supporters in Chile in the l970’s who wanted to empower workers, not just rescue them when they get buried in a deep hole.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Could a Leak Have Stopped 9/11?
By Coleen Rowley and Bogdan Dzakovic
October 17, 2010
October 17, 2010
There were a lot of us in the run-up to Sept. 11 who had seen warning signs that something devastating might be in the planning stages. But we worked for ossified bureaucracies incapable of acting quickly and decisively.
California Voters Take on the Drug War
By Kevin Zeese
October 17, 2010
October 17, 2010
The great divide between politicians and the people is showing itself in California where polls show the voters support Proposition 19 and where the mainstream politicians mostly oppose it.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Lost Faith in CIA Intelligence Analysts
By Melvin A. Goodman
October 16, 2010
October 16, 2010
President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947 to ensure that the policy community would have access to independent intelligence analysis that was free of the policy advocacy of the State Department and the Defense Department.
Friday, October 15, 2010
'RED': A High-Brow Spy Caper
By Lisa Pease
October 15, 2010
Ever wonder what happens to CIA assassins after they retire? Screenwriters (and brothers) Jon and Erich Hoeber decided to find out, to hilarious effect.
Read on.
October 15, 2010
Ever wonder what happens to CIA assassins after they retire? Screenwriters (and brothers) Jon and Erich Hoeber decided to find out, to hilarious effect.
Read on.
Pentagon Releases Tally of Dead Iraqis
By Rory O'Connor
October 15, 2010
October 15, 2010
In July, the United States military issued its largest release of raw data on deaths during the Iraq war. The Pentagon tallied almost 77,000 Iraqis – both civilians and security forces – as having died in the carnage between January 2004 and August 2008.
Read on.The 'Teach-the-Dems-a-Lesson' Myth
By Robert Parry
October 15, 2010
October 15, 2010
If my e-mail inbox is any indication, many American progressives plan to use the Nov. 2 election as an opportunity to “teach the Democrats a lesson” by either not voting or casting ballots for third parties, even if this contributes to the expected Republican (and Tea Party) landslide.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Treating Detainees Like Guinea Pigs
By Jason Leopold and Jeffrey Kaye
October 14, 2010
October 14, 2010
In 2002, as the Bush administration was turning to torture and other brutal techniques for interrogating "war on terror" detainees, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz loosened rules against human experimentation, an apparent recognition of legal problems regarding the novel strategies for extracting and evaluating information from the prisoners.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Leakers, Beware the Corporate Media
By Ray McGovern
October 13, 2010
The following is a Code-Orange Advisory to patriotic truth-tellers, sometimes called whistleblowers or leakers: It is anachronistically naïve to expect the New York Times or other organs of today’s Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) to publish classified material like the Pentagon Papers without their first clearing it with the government.
Read on.
October 13, 2010
The following is a Code-Orange Advisory to patriotic truth-tellers, sometimes called whistleblowers or leakers: It is anachronistically naïve to expect the New York Times or other organs of today’s Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) to publish classified material like the Pentagon Papers without their first clearing it with the government.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Foreclosure Fraud's Outrage Gap
By Danny Schechter
October 12, 2010
The other day, during an interview on Al Jazeera, I was asked if I was frustrated because my warnings and worries about the financial meltdown and foreclosure crisis, first aired in 2006, have been ignored so long.
Read on.
October 12, 2010
The other day, during an interview on Al Jazeera, I was asked if I was frustrated because my warnings and worries about the financial meltdown and foreclosure crisis, first aired in 2006, have been ignored so long.
Read on.
Awe of Military vs. Free Speech
By Ivan Eland
October 12, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case where the father of a fallen serviceman is suing members of a church over its picketing of military funerals with signs that say, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “God Killed Your Sons,” and “Thank God for 9/11.”
Read on.
October 12, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case where the father of a fallen serviceman is suing members of a church over its picketing of military funerals with signs that say, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “God Killed Your Sons,” and “Thank God for 9/11.”
Read on.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Islamophobia's Scholarly Godfather
Nabil Al-Khowaiter
October 9, 2010
While it may appear that Islamophobia is a new phenomenon in America – the result of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington – its roots can be traced back to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, followed by the Arab oil embargo and a quadrupling of gas pump prices.
Read on.
October 9, 2010
While it may appear that Islamophobia is a new phenomenon in America – the result of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington – its roots can be traced back to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, followed by the Arab oil embargo and a quadrupling of gas pump prices.
Read on.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Obama's Mission Impossible
By Danny Schechter
October 8, 2010
With the midterm election less than a month away and the economic crisis unabated, the Obama Administration may be at a crossroads.
Read on.
October 8, 2010
With the midterm election less than a month away and the economic crisis unabated, the Obama Administration may be at a crossroads.
Read on.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
A Long History of America's Dark Side
By Peter Dale Scott and Robert Parry
October 7, 2010
There is a dark -- seldom acknowledged -- thread that runs through U.S. military doctrine, dating back to the early days of the Republic.
Read on.
October 7, 2010
There is a dark -- seldom acknowledged -- thread that runs through U.S. military doctrine, dating back to the early days of the Republic.
Read on.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Indian Genocide and Republican Power
By Thomas J. DiLorenzo
October 7, 2010
The real culture of violence in the American West of the latter half of the 19th Century sprang from the U.S. government’s policies toward the Plains Indians. It is untrue that white European settlers were always at war with Indians, as popular folklore contends.
Read on.
October 7, 2010
The real culture of violence in the American West of the latter half of the 19th Century sprang from the U.S. government’s policies toward the Plains Indians. It is untrue that white European settlers were always at war with Indians, as popular folklore contends.
Read on.
What a GOP Majority Would Mean
By Don Monkerud
October 6, 2010
Under the Republican Party's blueprint for America, BP will no longer be required to clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the F.D.A. will not restrict the new diabetes drug Avandia just because it's unsafe; and donors will be allowed to keep their contributions to political campaigns secret.
Read on.
October 6, 2010
Under the Republican Party's blueprint for America, BP will no longer be required to clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the F.D.A. will not restrict the new diabetes drug Avandia just because it's unsafe; and donors will be allowed to keep their contributions to political campaigns secret.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Petraeus's New Afghan War Ploy
By Ivan Eland
October 5, 2010
Although David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently peddled the notion that senior Taliban chieftains had made contact with senior Afghan government officials about the possibility of starting reconciliation talks, such talk of peace in our time is likely to be hype.
Read on.
October 5, 2010
Although David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently peddled the notion that senior Taliban chieftains had made contact with senior Afghan government officials about the possibility of starting reconciliation talks, such talk of peace in our time is likely to be hype.
Read on.
An Inside Look at the Afghan Debacle
By Melvin A. Goodman
October 5, 2010
Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars offers a disturbing account of President Barack Obama's lack of leadership and the flawed decision-making practices of his national security team.
Read on.
October 5, 2010
Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars offers a disturbing account of President Barack Obama's lack of leadership and the flawed decision-making practices of his national security team.
Read on.
Monday, October 04, 2010
The Bigot Whisperers of the Right
By Phil Rockstroh
October 4, 2010
I was born, at slightly past the midpoint of the 20th Century, in the Deep South city of Birmingham, Alabama -- "The Heart of Dixie."
Read on.
October 4, 2010
I was born, at slightly past the midpoint of the 20th Century, in the Deep South city of Birmingham, Alabama -- "The Heart of Dixie."
Read on.
The Enduring Battle with Chaos
By the Rev. Howard Bess
October 4, 2010
In the Sixth Century B.C.E., amid the power of the Babylonian empire – with a group of defeated Israelites living there in exile – the questions of how the earth began and how it might end were not subjects of speculation or interest, for Babylonians or Israelites.
Read on.
October 4, 2010
In the Sixth Century B.C.E., amid the power of the Babylonian empire – with a group of defeated Israelites living there in exile – the questions of how the earth began and how it might end were not subjects of speculation or interest, for Babylonians or Israelites.
Read on.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
A Gentle March for American Unity
By Danny Schechter
October 3, 2010
I have been marching on Washington — and covering marches for more years that I can remember. As a kid, I was part of the original March on Washington back in ’63. It was for jobs and freedom.
Read on.
October 3, 2010
I have been marching on Washington — and covering marches for more years that I can remember. As a kid, I was part of the original March on Washington back in ’63. It was for jobs and freedom.
Read on.
Guatemala: A Test Tube of Repression
By Robert Parry
October 3, 2010
Last week’s grotesque revelation about American public health doctors infecting nearly 700 Guatemalans with venereal disease to test penicillin from 1946-48 marked just the start of the U.S. government’s post-World War II abuse of that Central American country.
Read on.
October 3, 2010
Last week’s grotesque revelation about American public health doctors infecting nearly 700 Guatemalans with venereal disease to test penicillin from 1946-48 marked just the start of the U.S. government’s post-World War II abuse of that Central American country.
Read on.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Obama's Hypocrisy on Torture
By Jason Leopold
October 2, 2010
This week, in a burst of stunning hypocrisy, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that imposes sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses and targets eight Iranian government and military officials who are blamed for the torture, abuse and murder of citizens who protested Iran’s 2009 presidential election.
Read on.
October 2, 2010
This week, in a burst of stunning hypocrisy, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that imposes sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses and targets eight Iranian government and military officials who are blamed for the torture, abuse and murder of citizens who protested Iran’s 2009 presidential election.
Read on.
Friday, October 01, 2010
What a Burned Pentagon Book Reveals
By David Swanson
October 1, 2010
The Pentagon spent $50,000 of our money to buy up the first edition of Operation Dark Heart by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and destroy every copy.
Read on.
October 1, 2010
The Pentagon spent $50,000 of our money to buy up the first edition of Operation Dark Heart by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and destroy every copy.
Read on.
Finally, Israel Lobby Gets Challenged
By Lawrence Davidson
October 1, 2010
Two news articles have recently appeared, each discussing a different approach to overcoming the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby that presently has enough clout to substitute its own parochial interests for the U.S. national interest.
Read on.
October 1, 2010
Two news articles have recently appeared, each discussing a different approach to overcoming the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby that presently has enough clout to substitute its own parochial interests for the U.S. national interest.
Read on.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
CIA Analysts Shut Out on Afghan War
By Ray McGovern
September 30, 2010
September 30, 2010
Thumbing through Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars, I should not have been surprised that the index lacks any entry for “intelligence.”
Fear Still Erodes American Liberties
By Danny Schechter
September 30, 2010
There is a saying I may be twisting in the retelling to the effect of what you do unto others will be done onto you. In Karmic terms, it boils down to what goes around cones around.
Read on.
September 30, 2010
There is a saying I may be twisting in the retelling to the effect of what you do unto others will be done onto you. In Karmic terms, it boils down to what goes around cones around.
Read on.
Our Unheeded Warnings to Obama
By Robert Parry
September 30, 2010
In the days after Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, we published a three-part series warning him of dangers ahead. However, the new President chose to ignore all our warnings. So nearly two years later, it might be a good time to assess whether our concerns were valid or not.
Read on.
September 30, 2010
In the days after Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, we published a three-part series warning him of dangers ahead. However, the new President chose to ignore all our warnings. So nearly two years later, it might be a good time to assess whether our concerns were valid or not.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Israeli Commandos Accused of Murder
By Gareth Porter
September 29, 2010
The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively that U.S. citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
Read on.
September 29, 2010
The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively that U.S. citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
Read on.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Mystery of a 'Disgraced' War Reporter
By Don North
September 28, 2010
War changes – and often harms – not only its combatants but its eyewitnesses, including the war correspondents with their unique job of getting as close as possible to a conflict, reporting what they see, and somehow surviving to tell about it.
Read on.
September 28, 2010
War changes – and often harms – not only its combatants but its eyewitnesses, including the war correspondents with their unique job of getting as close as possible to a conflict, reporting what they see, and somehow surviving to tell about it.
Read on.
Rove's Money Tramples Democracy
By Kevin Zeese
September 28, 2010
In this first post-Citizens United election, voters are the victims of a crime against democracy that the government seems unable, or unwilling, to stop despite it occurring right before our eyes.
Read on.
September 28, 2010
In this first post-Citizens United election, voters are the victims of a crime against democracy that the government seems unable, or unwilling, to stop despite it occurring right before our eyes.
Read on.
The Neocons' 'Democracy' Fraud
By Ivan Eland
September 28, 2010
American policymakers love to see purple thumbs in the developing world, especially in countries in which the United States has undertaken “nation-building” projects (read: invasions and occupations).
Read on.
September 28, 2010
American policymakers love to see purple thumbs in the developing world, especially in countries in which the United States has undertaken “nation-building” projects (read: invasions and occupations).
Read on.
Monday, September 27, 2010
How Bush Holdovers Trapped Obama
By Robert Parry
September 27, 2010
President Barack Obama trapped himself in the morass of Afghanistan by his post-election decision to show bipartisan continuity and to keep in place George W. Bush’s military command structure, particularly Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus.
Read on.
September 27, 2010
President Barack Obama trapped himself in the morass of Afghanistan by his post-election decision to show bipartisan continuity and to keep in place George W. Bush’s military command structure, particularly Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus.
Read on.
Must Christianity Dominate America?
By the Rev. Howard Bess
September 27, 2010
One of the great sins of Christianity over the centuries is that it has sought dominance over believers in other religions as well as non-believers.
Read on.
September 27, 2010
One of the great sins of Christianity over the centuries is that it has sought dominance over believers in other religions as well as non-believers.
Read on.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Big Media Won't Forgive Colbert
By Jeff Cohen
September 26, 2010
Let's face it: Some in the Washington press corps still resent Stephen Colbert because he so brilliantly lampooned them to their faces at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner over their coziness with the Bush White House.
Read on.
September 26, 2010
Let's face it: Some in the Washington press corps still resent Stephen Colbert because he so brilliantly lampooned them to their faces at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner over their coziness with the Bush White House.
Read on.
New FBI Raids in 'War on Dissent'
By Coleen Rowley
September 26, 2010
The war on dissent, rather than terrorism, continued full steam with FBI SWAT teams breaking down doors at 7 a.m. Friday morning and raiding the homes of several anti-war leaders and activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and possibly a couple other Midwest cities.
Read on.
September 26, 2010
The war on dissent, rather than terrorism, continued full steam with FBI SWAT teams breaking down doors at 7 a.m. Friday morning and raiding the homes of several anti-war leaders and activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and possibly a couple other Midwest cities.
Read on.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Obama's Anti-historical UN Speech
By Lawrence Davidson
September 25, 2010
On Sept. 23, as President Obama took his turn at the United Nations’ podium, there were a world of problems to address but, not unexpectedly, he chose to concentrate on the Middle East.
Read on.
September 25, 2010
On Sept. 23, as President Obama took his turn at the United Nations’ podium, there were a world of problems to address but, not unexpectedly, he chose to concentrate on the Middle East.
Read on.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Petraeus Cons Obama on Afghan War
By Ray McGovern
September 24, 2010
September 24, 2010
One thing that comes through clearly in Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, is the contempt felt by Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, toward President Barack Obama.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Testing the Value of Truth
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.
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.
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.
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