March 3, 2011
The mysterious fortune of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak got an early boost from millions of dollars in cash bribes delivered by CIA-connected arms merchants in the late 1970s, according to two participants.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Ray McGovern Hails Dropped Charge
By Robert Parry
March 2, 2011
March 2, 2011
A disorderly conduct charge against former CIA analyst Ray McGovern – for standing silently with his back to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – was dropped on Wednesday in what McGovern called a victory for the constitutional right to dissent against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How to Read Gates's Shift on the Wars
By Ray McGovern
March 2, 2011
March 2, 2011
In Establishment Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates enjoys a charmed life based on a charming persona. The Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) is always ready with fulsome praise for his “candor” and “leadership” – and even for his belated recognition that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were nuts.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
WikiLeaks Shames the Old News Media
By Kevin Zeese
March 1, 2011
March 1, 2011
If there were ever a doubt about whether the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is “a real journalist,” recent events should erase all those doubts. Indeed, they should put him at the forefront of a movement to democratize journalism and empower people.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Kicking the Vietnam Syndrome
By Robert Parry
February 28, 2011
February 28, 2011
Twenty years ago, with a resounding victory in a 100-hour ground war against Iraqi troops in Kuwait, the first Bush administration completed the restoration of a powerful public consensus, a renewed national commitment that the United States should act as the world’s imperial policeman.
Ten Reasons Why Wall Street Skated
By Danny Schechter
February 28, 2011
February 28, 2011
Hats off to writer Matt Taibbi for staying on the Wall Street crime beat, asking in his most recent report in Rolling Stone: “Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?”
Read on.Sunday, February 27, 2011
Gates Agrees, Bush's Wars Were Nuts
By Robert Parry
February 27, 2011
February 27, 2011
When Defense Secretary Robert Gates told West Point cadets that you’d have to be crazy to commit U.S. troops to wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, media commentators quickly detected a slap at his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, who oversaw those conflicts.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
America's Radical 'Conservatism'
By Lawrence Davidson
February 26, 2011
February 26, 2011
If you have the stomach to listen to the likes of Glenn Beck or track the antics of people like Sarah Palin, you might get the idea that today’s American political conservatives are a bunch of radicals and extremists. And, as we will see, you would be correct.
Professor Maguire Criticizes UN Veto
By Daniel C. Maguire
February 26, 2011
Dear Dr. Rice, A criticism and a comment: "Settlement" is, as you know, a euphemism for expropriation of Palestinian property.
Read on.
February 26, 2011
Dear Dr. Rice, A criticism and a comment: "Settlement" is, as you know, a euphemism for expropriation of Palestinian property.
Read on.
America, a Land of No Prophets
By the Rev. Howard Bess
February 26, 2011
February 26, 2011
In today’s English language, a prophet is someone who has the power to predict the future, but that is not the role of the prophets that we find in the Bible.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Recruiting America to War on Itself
By Michael Winship
February 25, 2011
February 25, 2011
"More cheese, less sleaze!" That was the funniest group chant at Tuesday’s rally of several hundred union and other progressive activists outside the Manhattan headquarters of Fox News.
Political Upheaval and Women's Rights
By William John Cox
February 25, 2011
February 25, 2011
As the youth-led Freedom Movement of 2011 spreads rapidly across the Middle East, one can only wonder what would be happening in Iraq today if the U.S. had not invaded eight years ago.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Budget Crisis? Duh, Tax the Rich!
By Robert Parry
February 24, 2011
February 24, 2011
A great tragedy of the United States is that the answer to many of the country’s domestic problems is obvious, even simple, but can’t be done because of a dominating political/media dynamic that rules that solution out.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wisconsin's Right-Wing Radical
By Lisa Pease
February 23, 2011
February 23, 2011
It’s not just Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recent efforts to strip public employees of their right to collectively bargain that have citizens of his state outraged. Walker is nothing short of a radical hell-bent on privatizing the public sector of Wisconsin.
Standing Up to War and Hillary Clinton
By Ray McGovern
February 23, 2011
February 23, 2011
It was not until Secretary of State Hillary Clinton walked to the George Washington University podium last week to enthusiastic applause that I decided I had to dissociate myself from the obsequious adulation of a person responsible for so much death, suffering and destruction.
US Endless-War Budget Rolls On
By Sherwood Ross
February 23, 2011
February 23, 2011
Under President Barack Obama's new budget for fiscal year 2012, the Great American War Machine just rolls on and on.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Which Way on America's Road to Ruin?
By Don Monkerud
February 22, 2011
America remains on the "road to ruin," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declared as she honored the legacy of Ronald Reagan.
February 22, 2011
America remains on the "road to ruin," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declared as she honored the legacy of Ronald Reagan.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Madoff Fingers Wall Street,, Sort of
By Danny Schechter
February 21, 2011
February 21, 2011
Thank you Bernie for breaking your silence, even if you are still clinging to that cover-up mode you adopted since your guilty plea took all the blame for your crimes on yourself.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Multiple 'Realities' in the Middle East
By Lawrence Davidson
February 20, 2011
February 20, 2011
The inspiring moments when President Obama appeared before the cameras, and thus the world, to declare that the dictator Hosni Mubarak must step down and the people of Egypt must be given the inalienable right to self-determination are now in the past.
The GOP's Mixed Emotions on Anger
By Nat Parry
February 20, 2011
February 20, 2011
The national Republican leadership embraced anger during the first two years of Barack Obama’s term with rank-and-file Republicans even brandishing guns at rallies. But anger is suddenly a bad thing again, at least when expressed by public employees defending their collective bargaining rights.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Egypt's Lessons of Peace
By Rev. Howard Bess
February 19, 2011
February 19, 2011
The uprising in Egypt has to be added to the truly world-changing events that I have witnessed in my life. The others I would call “the big three”: World War II, the American civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tea Party Crazy Sweeps America
By Michael Winship
February 18, 2011
February 18, 2011
Forced at gunpoint this weekend to clean out a lot of old paper files in anticipation of some home improvements, I ran across some articles and obituaries I had saved following the death, a little more than five and a half years ago, of the late, great Ann Richards, former governor of Texas.
Read on.Battling 'Neoliberalism' in Wisconsin
By Daniel C. Maguire
February 18, 2011
It has been well noted that the protest in Madison, Wisconsin, is not about the budget but about union-busting, but that is a symptom, not the root of the problem.
Read on.
February 18, 2011
It has been well noted that the protest in Madison, Wisconsin, is not about the budget but about union-busting, but that is a symptom, not the root of the problem.
Read on.
Colin Powell's Disgraceful Lies
By David Swanson
February 18, 2011
February 18, 2011
In the wake of WMD-liar Curveball's videotaped confession, Colin Powell is demanding to know why nobody warned him about Curveball's unreliability. The trouble is, they did.
Read on.Thursday, February 17, 2011
Ray McGovern Bloodied at Clinton Talk
By Robert Parry
February 17, 2011
February 17, 2011
Sometimes the hypocrisy is just overwhelming. So, it probably shouldn’t surprise us that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would deliver a speech hailing the peaceful protests that changed Egypt while 71-year-old Ray McGovern was roughed up and dragged away for standing quietly in protest of her support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read on.The Back Story on Iran's Clashes
By Robert Parry
February 17, 2011
February 17, 2011
Iranian parliamentarians presented an ugly scene on Tuesday with raucous chants calling for the executions of two opposition leaders – and the U.S. news media was quick to denounce the Iranian government – but there is a complex history that Americans aren’t getting.
Read on.Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tear Down This Reagan Mythology
By Ivan Eland
February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011
A visit to the remote Reagan ranch in the mountains near Santa Barbara, California, on the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth set me thinking about Reagan’s foreign policy record.
Read on.
How Egypt's Revolt Challenges Israel
By Lawrence Davidson
February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently traveled to Israel and Jordan to assure these two "partners" of the steadfast nature of U.S. loyalty.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Short-Counting the Taliban
By Gareth Porter
February 15, 2011
February 15, 2011
Despite evidence that the Taliban insurgency had grown significantly in 2010, the U.S. intelligence
community failed to revise its estimate for Taliban forces as part of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan in December.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Recalling the Slaughter of Innocents
By Ray McGovern
February 14, 2011
February 14, 2011
Twenty years ago, as Americans were celebrating Valentine’s Day, Iraqi husbands and fathers in the Amiriyah section of Baghdad were peeling the remains of their wives and children off the walls and floor of a large neighborhood bomb shelter.
Read on.Now, Egypt Faces 'the Hard Part'
By Danny Schechter
February 14, 2011
February 14, 2011
On the long morning after, protesters returned to Tahrir Square to clean it up and savor their victory. There were even some initial scuffles with the military that may be over-anxious to assert control and show it is in charge.
Bush Confronts an Outraged World
By Lawrence Davidson
February 14, 2011
February 14, 2011
One of the really progressive acts that followed the end of World War II was the establishment of the principle of universal jurisdiction (UJ), a legal process that allows states that are signatories to various international treaties and conventions (such as the Geneva conventions) to prosecute alleged violators of these treaties, even when these violations are committed outside the country’s usual jurisdiction.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The CIA's Man in Egypt
By Scott Horton
February 12, 2011
February 12, 2011
With Mubarak’s departure, the focus now falls on his chosen successor, Omar Suleiman.
Read on.Friday, February 11, 2011
Hard Lessons from the HuffPost Sale
By Robert Parry
February 11, 2011
U.S. progressive media has had a tough few weeks. First, Keith Olbermann, the pioneer for liberal programming during MSNBC’s evening hours, was sent packing. Then, Arianna Huffington allowed AOL to subsume her Huffington Post into AOL’s right-of-center content for the price tag of $315 million.
Read on.
February 11, 2011
U.S. progressive media has had a tough few weeks. First, Keith Olbermann, the pioneer for liberal programming during MSNBC’s evening hours, was sent packing. Then, Arianna Huffington allowed AOL to subsume her Huffington Post into AOL’s right-of-center content for the price tag of $315 million.
Read on.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Obama-Was-Anti-Business Myth
By Kevin Zeese
February 10, 2011
February 10, 2011
The unrelenting narrative from the corporate media – that Obama must mend fences with American business – is disconnected from the reality of Obama’s policies and appointments.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
What a 'Liberal Media' Might Look Like
By Lisa Pease
February 9, 2011
February 9, 2011
I’m surprised that otherwise intelligent people continue to believe the myth that the media is “liberal.” I think it’s worth discussing what a liberal media would look like if we had one, so we can better understand that we don’t have one.
Read on.Tuesday, February 08, 2011
America's Stay-at-Home Ex-President
By Ray McGovern
February 8, 2011
February 8, 2011
As the news broke on Saturday that former President George W. Bush had abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance this week in Geneva to avoid the risk of arrest on a torture complaint, my first thought was — how humiliating, not only for Bush but, by extension, for all Americans.
Read on.US Spurned Taliban Peace Feelers
By Gareth Porter
February 8, 2011
February 8, 2011
The central justification of the U.S.-NATO war against the Afghan Taliban - that the Taliban would allow al Qaeda to return to Afghanistan - has been challenged by new historical evidence of offers by the Taliban leadership to reconcile with the Hamid Karzai government after the fall of the Taliban government in late 2001.
The Many Obstacles to Revolution
By William Blum
February 8, 2011
February 8, 2011
In July 1975, I went to Portugal because in April of the previous year a bloodless military coup had brought down the U.S.-supported 48-year fascist regime of Portugal.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Mubarak's Dangerous 'Groupthink'
By Lawrence Davidson
February 7, 2011
Through his stubbornness Hosni Mubarak has managed to transform himself from a 30-year "loyal ally" into an 82-year-old liability.
Read on.
February 7, 2011
Through his stubbornness Hosni Mubarak has managed to transform himself from a 30-year "loyal ally" into an 82-year-old liability.
Read on.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Egyptian Blogger Describes Clashes
By Dennis Bernstein
February 6, 2011
February 6, 2011
To call the ongoing people’s revolts in Tunisia and Egypt FaceBook revolutions is certainly overstating the case.
Read on.NYT's Keller Disparages Assange
By Coleen Rowley
February 6, 2011
February 6, 2011
How unseemly for New York Times executive editor Bill Keller to look down so disdainfully at WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, with a nasty ad hominem portrayal in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, “Dealing With Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets.”
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Ronald Reagan, Enabler of Atrocities
By Robert Parry
February 6, 2011
February 6, 2011
When you’re listening to the many tributes to President Ronald Reagan, often for his talent making Americans feel better about themselves, you might want to spend a minute thinking about the many atrocities in Latin America and elsewhere that Reagan aided, covered up or shrugged off in his inimitable "aw shucks" manner.
Egypt Is Test of Obama's Promises
By Kevin Zeese
February 5, 2011
February 5, 2011
Egypt is an alarm that signals the urgent need for change in U.S. foreign policy. It provides President Obama an opportunity to transform a foreign policy that has often had the opposite effect than was sought and is undermining U.S. economic and national security.
Read on.Friday, February 04, 2011
Mideast Payback Worries Washington
By Michael Winship
February 4, 2011
February 4, 2011
Almost seven years have passed since I spent some time in the Middle East. The closest I get to the opinions of "the Arab street" these days is the fellow who runs the delicatessen a block away from me.
Read on.Reagan's Epoch Shatters in Egypt
By Robert Parry
February 4, 2011
February 4, 2011
The political crisis sweeping the Middle East is another part of Ronald Reagan’s dark legacy that is shattering into chaos even as the United States prepares to lavishly celebrate his 100th birthday.
Read on.Thursday, February 03, 2011
Olbermann's Disturbing Departure
By Franklin L. Johnson
February 3, 2011
February 3, 2011
On Friday evening, Jan. 21, after reading a short story by James Thurber, titled The Scotty Who Knew Too Much, Keith Olbermann abruptly closed his program by informing his viewers it would be his last. This out-of-the-blue exit will go down in broadcast history as one of the most bizarre.
Read on.Israel Frets Over Egyptian Uprising
By Lawrence Davidson
February 3, 2011
February 3, 2011
I watched Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk about the ongoing events in Egypt. In essence, he said that if the demonstrations against the 30-year-old dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak succeeded the world could get an Iranian-style regime in Egypt and that would be the end of democracy.
Read on.Tuesday, February 01, 2011
The Hope of 'Groundhog Day'
By Winslow Myers
February 1, 2011
February 1, 2011
Groundhog Day brings to mind various associations, including the fervent hope of this snow-buried Bostonian that Punxsutawney Phil will not see his shadow this year and spring will come early. This may be the one good thing about global warming.
Read on.Lebanon Marks Another US Reversal
By Ivan Eland
February 1, 2011
February 1, 2011
With the rise of a Hezbollah-backed government in Lebanon, hand-wringing seems to be the order of the day in the American and Israeli governments.
Read on.Reagan's Bargain, Charlie Wilson's War
By Peter W. Dickson
February 1, 2011
February 1, 2011
What’s left out of a movie about history often interests only a few experts in the field. However, the release of one that chronicles the successful sub rosa American effort to bleed the Soviet Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s may prove to be an exception.
US-Israeli Strategy Crashes in Egypt
By Gareth Porter
February 1, 2011
February 1, 2011
The death throes of the Mubarak regime in Egypt signal a new level of crisis for a U.S. Middle East strategy that has shown itself over and over again in recent years to be based on nothing more than the illusion of power.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Assailing Assange on '60 Minutes'
By David Swanson
January 31, 2011
January 31, 2011
The reason people in Tunisia, Egypt, and other parts of the world have been influenced to some extent by the work of WikiLeaks is that they have read or heard about the material that WikiLeaks has helped to make public.
The Unpredictability of Uprisings
By Lawrence Davidson
January 31, 2011
January 31, 2011
If the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt tell us anything, it is that predicting the beginning of mass unrest is very difficult. Indeed, it is probably easier to predict the stock market.
Read on.Sunday, January 30, 2011
How Food Prices Feed Egyptian Revolt
By Danny Schechter
January 30, 2011
January 30, 2011
This is an upstairs/downstairs story that takes us from the peak of a Western mountaintop for the wealthy to spreading mass despair in the valleys of the Third World poor.
Read on.Saturday, January 29, 2011
US Cynicism Explodes in Egypt
By Jeff Cohen
January 29, 2011
January 29, 2011
In the last year of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. questioned U.S. military interventions against progressive movements in the Third World by invoking a JFK quote: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
Reagan's 'Tear Down This Wall' Myth
By Robert Parry
January 29, 2011
January 29, 2011
As the United States celebrates Ronald Reagan’s centennial birthday, the defining proof of his greatness as president will be represented by two sequential film clips – Reagan in Berlin ordering Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall,” followed by scenes of the Berlin Wall coming down.
America's History of Intolerance
By Robert Higgs
January 29, 2011
January 29, 2011
“Live and let live” would appear to be a simple, sensible guide to social life, but obviously many Americans reject this creed with a vengeance.
Read on.Friday, January 28, 2011
Reagan-Bush Legacy of Political Abuse
By Michael Winship
January 28, 2011
January 28, 2011
The Detroit Tigers are retiring the great baseball manager Sparky Anderson's number 11 this season. "It's a wonderful gesture," Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg wrote. "I just wish Sparky could see it."
Read on.Ronald Reagan's 30-Year Time Bombs
By Robert Parry
January 28, 2011
The time element of “30 years” keeps slipping into American official reports and news stories about the origins of crises – the latest in “The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report” – but rarely is the relevance of the three-decade span explained, and there is a reason.
Read on.
January 28, 2011
The time element of “30 years” keeps slipping into American official reports and news stories about the origins of crises – the latest in “The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report” – but rarely is the relevance of the three-decade span explained, and there is a reason.
Read on.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
New Hope in Russian Nuke Proposals
By Ivan Eland
January 27, 2011
January 27, 2011
U.S.-Russian relations are on the upswing – with the new treaty reducing deployed long-range strategic missiles (New START), an agreement on nuclear cooperation, and an arrangement to transport supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan through Russia. But there is much more to be done.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
More Republican Misconduct Ignored
By Don Monkerud
January 26, 2011
January 26, 2011
Tea Partiers, Republicans, and protectors of public morality are right about corruption in government.
One-State Solution to Israel/Palestine?
By Lawrence Davidson
January 26, 2011
January 26, 2011
When Yasir Arafat took over the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1969, he changed it from a tool of the Egyptian government to a dynamic united front seeking national liberation for the Palestinian people.
Read on.Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Chas Freeman's Defeat, a Neocon Win
By David Swanson
January 25, 2011
January 25, 2011
Whistleblowing takes many forms but almost always involves the disillusionment of an insider with the nature of what he or she is inside.
Read on.WPost Still Talks Tough on Iran
By Robert Parry
January 25, 2011
Just as some Republicans view tax cuts as the answer to all domestic problems, the Washington Post’s neoconservative editors see “regime change” in hostile Muslim nations as the only acceptable option, ignoring the slippage in U.S. influence in the Middle East that has resulted from following that approach in Iraq and elsewhere.
Read on.
January 25, 2011
Just as some Republicans view tax cuts as the answer to all domestic problems, the Washington Post’s neoconservative editors see “regime change” in hostile Muslim nations as the only acceptable option, ignoring the slippage in U.S. influence in the Middle East that has resulted from following that approach in Iraq and elsewhere.
Read on.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Excusing Torture at 'Justice'
By Ray McGovern
January 24, 2011
January 24, 2011
On Sunday, I attended an informal talk given in a parish hall by the Justice Department’s Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. His topic: “The way his work for justice is defined by his faith.”
Letting the Wall St. Banksters Walk
By Danny Schechter
January 24, 2011
January 24, 2011
All over Europe and in much of the rest of the world, a new fictional hero has engaged the fascination of millions of readers. His name is Mikael Blomkvist, and he’s the protagonist of the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy.
Read on.Ted Koppel's Timid Take on Iran-gate
By Robert Parry
January 24, 2011
January 24, 2011
Ted Koppel, whose broadcasting career got a big boost from the Iranian-hostage crisis in 1980, doesn’t seem aware that the long-running cover-up of how Republicans sabotaged President Jimmy Carter’s negotiations has collapsed – or Koppel may simply prefer to stick with the safer version of the story.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Ukraine's Assault on a Free Press
By David Marks
January 23, 2011
January 23, 2011
In Ukraine, where media diversity is often defined by which powerful oligarch controls which TV station, one network, TVi -- known for its independent investigative style -- is under intense legal pressure, with its owner not part of Ukraine's power circles.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann
By Robert Parry
January 22, 2011
January 22, 2011
Keith Olbermann’s abrupt departure from MSNBC should be another wake-up call to American progressives about the fragile foothold that liberal-oriented fare now has for only a few hours on one corporate cable network.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Roots of US Religious Tolerance
By the Rev. Howard Bess
January 21, 2011
January 21, 2011
Most people do not realize the meaning of being a Baptist. Theologically, we cover the full spectrum from right to left. We are scattered politically throughout Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers and None of the Above. Our hallmark is freedom.
Read on.Another MLK Holiday Is Safely Past
By Gary Kohls
January 21, 2011
“Now That He Is Safely Dead” is the poignant poem that was written by black poet/musician Carl Wendell Hines soon after Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965.
Read on.
January 21, 2011
“Now That He Is Safely Dead” is the poignant poem that was written by black poet/musician Carl Wendell Hines soon after Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965.
Read on.
Obama Submits to Israel Lobby
By Lawrence Davidson
January 21, 2011
January 21, 2011
According to Laura Rozen, a journalist specializing in foreign policy matters and writing in Politico, the Obama administration is seeking "new ideas from outside experts on how to advance the [Israeli-Palestinian] peace process."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
US Courts Help Corporations Win
By Michael Winship
January 20, 2011
Joe Berlinger's back is against the wall. Last week the independent filmmaker, already facing crushing debt from legal bills, was dealt a major blow in his continuing fight against the third largest company in America, Chevron.
Read on.
January 20, 2011
Joe Berlinger's back is against the wall. Last week the independent filmmaker, already facing crushing debt from legal bills, was dealt a major blow in his continuing fight against the third largest company in America, Chevron.
Read on.
Remembering Zorro's Vietnam Legacy
By Don North
January 20, 2011
January 20, 2011
Barry Zorthian, who died last month at the age of 90, was one of the last surviving U.S government officials who shaped America’s role in the Vietnam War, a man who also stood at the shadowy intersection between press management and psychological warfare.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Behind the WikiLeaks' Leak
By Charles Pena
January 19, 2011
January 19, 2011
The continuing WikiLeaks controversy has focused needed attention on a number of important issues: whether, for example, Julian Assange was justified in releasing classified information in order to make government more accountable, whether the release of the information put U.S. intelligence sources and methods at risk, and whether the legitimate need for secrecy in certain government activities occasionally provides cover for government activities that public officials would have trouble justifying if they took place in the open.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
China's Hu Arrives to Look Around
By Danny Schechter
January 18, 2011
January 18, 2011
On the eve of the Chinese President’s visit to the United States, and the intense speculation about his intentions — and ours — I found myself in a dark room at the Anthology Film Archive in the East Village watching a spectacular documentary by Chinese filmmaker Zhao Liang called “Petition.”
Getting Out of Iraq Before More Strife
By Ivan Eland
January 18, 2011
January 18, 2011
The American media continues to tout the reduced violence in Iraq without foreseeing the long-term potential for a resumption of severe ethno-sectarian violence and the absence of mechanisms — Ã la Sudan — to defuse it.
Read on.Monday, January 17, 2011
Eisenhower's Understated Warning
By Gareth Porter
January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011
Fifty years after Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Jan. 17, 1961, speech on the “military-industrial complex,” the threat he identified has morphed into a far more powerful and sinister force than Eisenhower could have imagined. It has become a “Permanent War State,” with the power to keep the United States at war continuously for the indefinite future.
Twisting MLK's Message of Peace
By William Loren Katz
January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011
On Jan. 13, the Pentagon commemorated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an address by Jeh C. Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel, who insisted that today’s wars are not out of line with the iconic Nobel Peace Prize winner’s teachings.
Read on.Troubled History of the Hariri Probe
By Robert Parry
January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011
A United Nations-backed tribunal, which has conducted a long and troubled investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, issued a sealed indictment on Monday amid expectations that members of Hezbollah will be blamed.
Reversing the Erosion of Civil Liberties
By Coleen Rowley
January 17, 2011
Who has not yet awoken to the fact that we have been sailing since the 9/11 attacks into a perfect storm?
Read on.
January 17, 2011
Who has not yet awoken to the fact that we have been sailing since the 9/11 attacks into a perfect storm?
Read on.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Israeli Right's Move to Repress
By Lawrence Davidson
January 16, 2011
January 16, 2011
Zeev Sternhell is an Israeli historian and a recognized expert on Fascism. He is also an occasional contributor to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Read on.Eisenhower's Neglected Warning
By Melvin A. Goodman
January 16, 2011
January 16, 2011
On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued his prophetic warning about the military-industrial complex, anticipating the increased political, economic, military and even cultural influence of the Pentagon and its allies.
Read on.
A Nation Approaching Spiritual Death
By Gary Kohls
January 16, 2011
January 16, 2011
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The 9/11 'Truth' Parlor Game
By Robert Parry
January 15, 2011
January 15, 2011
It seems that I have upset some folks on the Left again, this time by mentioning – deep inside a story about Sarah Palin’s proclaimed victimhood over the Tucson massacre fallout – that groups like the 9/11 “truthers” also have contributed to America’s crazed political environment.
Can Individual Action Save the Planet?
By Don Monkerud
January 15, 2011
January 15, 2011
Recent figures indicate that 2010 tied 2005 as the hottest year on record. Indeed, nine of the ten warmest years occurred since 2001 as climate chaos creates havoc around the world.
Read on.Friday, January 14, 2011
The Violence of Deformed Christianity
By the Rev. Howard Bess
January 14, 2011
January 14, 2011
What happened in Tucson is not new to American life. It happens every day across the country. Indeed, murders using guns are so common that little note is taken until a high-profile person is the target or the numbers of dead are shockingly high.
Read on.Troubling Signs of Incipient Fascism
By Danny Schechter
January 14, 2011
January 14, 2011
Fascism is one of those words that sounds like it belongs in the past, conjuring up, as it does, marching jack boots in the streets, charismatic demagogues like Italy’s Mussolini or Spain’s Franco and armed crackdowns on dissent and freedom of expression.
Read on.An American Suicide Terrorist?
By William John Cox
January 14, 2011
January 14, 2011
Jared Loughner acted as a domestic suicide terrorist in the political “battleground” of American politics. His YouTube postings and “good-bye” phone messages are ominously reminiscent of the traditional farewell videos of Islamist martyrs.
Read on.Thursday, January 13, 2011
Is Obama Right to Quiet Debate?
By Lawrence Davidson
January 13, 2011
January 13, 2011
There are two groups responsible for last Saturday’s tragedy in Tucson Arizona.
Read on.Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Palin Depicts Herself as Tucson Victim
By Robert Parry
January 12, 2011
January 12, 2011
It didn’t take long after the Tucson massacre for the American Right to retreat to its favorite default position: victimhood.
Finding a Path Out of Afghanistan
By Ivan Eland
January 12, 2011
January 12, 2011
If actions speak louder than words, the U.S. military has seemed to confirm the pessimistic findings of the National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which the military had recently pooh-poohed.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Another Betrayal of Helen Thomas
By Danny Schechter
January 11, 2011
January 11, 2011
The Society of Professional Journalists [SPJ] is preparing to jump on the "kick Helen Thomas when she is down" campaign by retiring a lifetime achievement award that honors this great American journalist.
The Lingering Stain of Guantanamo
By Ray McGovern
January 11, 2011
Today begins the tenth year of an abomination — the prison camp our country created at Guantanamo.
Read on.
January 11, 2011
Today begins the tenth year of an abomination — the prison camp our country created at Guantanamo.
Read on.
How WikiLeaks Unhinged Washington
By Linda Lewis and Coleen Rowley
January 11, 2011
January 11, 2011
As Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano recently admitted, the notion of "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" is so totally passé.
Read on.Rep. King's Show Trial for Muslims
By Lawrence Davidson
January 11, 2011
It is just about certain that the new Republican House will hold hearings on the "radicalization of the American Muslim Community." The hearings will be called by Peter King, the Republican representative from New York who is now the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
Read on.
January 11, 2011
It is just about certain that the new Republican House will hold hearings on the "radicalization of the American Muslim Community." The hearings will be called by Peter King, the Republican representative from New York who is now the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
Read on.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Right's Talkers Shift the Blame
By Rory O'Connor
January 10, 2011
January 10, 2011
“It is our right and our duty to criticize the people who have put the fate of our country in peril,” Rush Limbaugh said this week on his syndicated radio show.
Read on.
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