Wednesday, November 25, 2009

How Bugliosi Met the Bush Censors

By David Swanson
November 25, 2009

One of the best features of a visit to Los Angeles is the opportunity to hang out with the guy who put Charles Manson in prison, the most successful criminal prosecutor we're ever likely to see, Vince Bugliosi (105 convictions in 106 felony jury trials, 21 convictions in 21 murder trials).

Read on.

A Jane Goodall Thanksgiving

By Michael Winship
November 25, 2009

Give thanks. Because this isn't one of those Thanksgiving lists of things for which we should be grateful -- although health, family, friends, laughter, etc., would certainly all be on mine.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Obama's Profile in Courage Moment

By Ray McGovern
November 24, 2009

“It took a lot of courage on Kennedy’s part to defy the Pentagon, defy the military — and do the right thing,” said Col. Larry Wilkerson, USA (ret.), according to Robert Dreyfuss in his recent Rolling Stone article “The Generals’ Revolt.”

Read on.

KSM Trial Helps Restore US Principles

By Ivan Eland
November 24, 2009

The Obama administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and four alleged co-conspirators in civilian court is a laudable return to the rule of law from the Bush administration’s kangaroo military commissions, which convened offshore in Guantanamo to avoid giving defendants full legal rights under domestic or international law.

Read on.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Why Afghans Dig Empire Graveyards

By Nicolas J S Davies
November 23, 2009

Afghanistan is known as the "graveyard of empires." But just why do empires keep sending thousands of their young people to die in Afghanistan?

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California Tuition Hikes Spark Protests

By Peter Phillips
November 23, 2009

Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California (UC) campuses again.

Read on.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Madness Returns

By Robert Parry
November 22, 2009

The hoopla over former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s memoir is the latest sign that the madness, which has dominated American political life for most of the last three decades, has returned – and may be on its way to a political restoration in 2010 and beyond.

Read on.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

New Yorkers Resist 9/11 Scare Tactics

By Michael Winship
November 21, 2009

If you want to royally tick off New Yorkers, try telling us what to do.

Read on.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Should Obama Fire Gen. McChrystal?

By Ray McGovern
November 20, 2009

It is not too late for President Barack Obama to follow the example of Harry Truman, who fired the famous Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1951 for insubordination. Then, as now, the stakes were high. Then it was Korea; now it is Afghanistan.

Read on.

The Vision of 'The Blind Side'

By Lisa Pease
November 20, 2009

“The Blind Side” is an amazing true-life story of the rich, white, Republican Tuohy family in Tennessee that adopted a homeless African-American kid named Michael Oher and made him a beloved member of their a family. Oher went on to become a professional football player.

Read on.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Learning All the Wrong Vietnam Lessons

By Douglas Valentine
November 19, 2009

Evan Thomas and John Barry begin their Newsweek article, “The Surprising Lessons of Vietnam,” in a promising way, recounting a recent anecdote in which Afghan War commander Stanley McChrystal gets on the phone with author Stanley Karnow, whose book Vietnam is described as “the standard popular account of the Vietnam War.”

Read on.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A Three-Step Afghan Strategy

By Bruce P. Cameron
November 18, 2009

No Afghan policy based on securing enemy territory and developing state institutions and a non-narcotics-based economy can be successful in all of Afghanistan without at least 250,000 – and probably 500,000 – soldiers.

Read on.


KSM and the MSM

By David Swanson
November 18, 209

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the corporate "mainstream" media make quite a pair.

Read on.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Afghan Lessons from the Iraq War

By Ray McGovern
November 17, 2009

You don’t have to go back 40 years to the Vietnam War to feel the sting of déjà vu. Returning to the Iraq War just three years ago will suffice.

Read on.

War and Remembrance in London

By Michael Winship
November 17, 2009

In Great Britain, Remembrance Sunday falls on the second Sunday of November, the one closest to November 11th, the anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918. Once, the world called November 11th Armistice Day. Now, in the United States at least, it is Veterans Day.

Read on.

The Ugly Truth about Jobs

By Robert Parry
November 17, 2009

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Americans a glimpse of the ugly truth about their future job prospects. Simply put, companies have found that they can shed workers and rely on technological advances and overseas factories to operate with a lot fewer U.S. employees.

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History's Bitter Guerrilla War Lessons

By Ivan Eland
November 17, 2009

In recent history, very few counterinsurgency wars have ended in success.

Read on.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Will the Gun Carnage Ever Stop?

By Sherwood Ross
November 16, 2009

Every time the young stick-up man tugged at my companion’s purse with his left hand, she would pull back, causing the muzzle of the pistol he held in his right hand to swing back and forth.

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Facts Behind 'Men Who Stare at Goats'

By Lisa Pease
November 16, 2009

Can people really influence the physical world with thought alone? And if so, dare we use that power for evil, instead of good? Or will the effort come back to haunt us?

Read on.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Shining Light on Roots of Terrorism

By Ray McGovern
November 15, 2009

Media commentary on the upcoming 9/11 trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has raised concern that state secrets may be divulged, including details about how the Bush administration used torture to extract evidence about al-Qaeda.

Read on.