The Unpredictability of Uprisings

By Lawrence Davidson
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.

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How Food Prices Feed Egyptian Revolt

By Danny Schechter
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.

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US Cynicism Explodes in Egypt

By Jeff Cohen
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.”

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Reagan's 'Tear Down This Wall' Myth

By Robert Parry
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.

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America's History of Intolerance

By Robert Higgs
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.

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Reagan-Bush Legacy of Political Abuse

By Michael Winship
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."

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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.

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New Hope in Russian Nuke Proposals

By Ivan Eland
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.

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More Republican Misconduct Ignored

By Don Monkerud
January 26, 2011

Tea Partiers, Republicans, and protectors of public morality are right about corruption in government.

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One-State Solution to Israel/Palestine?

By Lawrence Davidson
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.

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Chas Freeman's Defeat, a Neocon Win

By David Swanson
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.

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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.

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Excusing Torture at 'Justice'

By Ray McGovern
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.”

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Letting the Wall St. Banksters Walk

By Danny Schechter
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.

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Ted Koppel's Timid Take on Iran-gate

By Robert Parry
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.

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Ukraine's Assault on a Free Press

By David Marks
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.

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The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann

By Robert Parry
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.

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The Roots of US Religious Tolerance

By the Rev. Howard Bess
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.

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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.

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Obama Submits to Israel Lobby

By Lawrence Davidson
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."

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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.

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Remembering Zorro's Vietnam Legacy

By Don North
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.

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Behind the WikiLeaks' Leak

By Charles Pena
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.

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China's Hu Arrives to Look Around

By Danny Schechter
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.”

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Getting Out of Iraq Before More Strife

By Ivan Eland
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 — à la Sudan — to defuse it.

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Eisenhower's Understated Warning

By Gareth Porter
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.

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Twisting MLK's Message of Peace

By William Loren Katz
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.

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Troubled History of the Hariri Probe

By Robert Parry
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.

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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?

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The Israeli Right's Move to Repress

By Lawrence Davidson
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.

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Eisenhower's Neglected Warning

By Melvin A. Goodman
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.

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A Nation Approaching Spiritual Death

By Gary Kohls
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.”

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The 9/11 'Truth' Parlor Game

By Robert Parry
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.

Read on.

Can Individual Action Save the Planet?

By Don Monkerud
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.

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The Violence of Deformed Christianity

By the Rev. Howard Bess
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.

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Troubling Signs of Incipient Fascism

By Danny Schechter
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.

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An American Suicide Terrorist?

By William John Cox
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.

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Is Obama Right to Quiet Debate?

By Lawrence Davidson
January 13, 2011

There are two groups responsible for last Saturday’s tragedy in Tucson Arizona.

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Palin Depicts Herself as Tucson Victim

By Robert Parry
January 12, 2011

It didn’t take long after the Tucson massacre for the American Right to retreat to its favorite default position: victimhood.

Read on.

Finding a Path Out of Afghanistan

By Ivan Eland
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.

Read on.

Another Betrayal of Helen Thomas

By Danny Schechter
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.

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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.

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How WikiLeaks Unhinged Washington

By Linda Lewis and Coleen Rowley
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.

The Right's Talkers Shift the Blame

By Rory O'Connor
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.

How Hate Speech Shapes the Right

By Michael Winship
January 10, 2011

The Russian playwright Anton Chekhov had a rule: if you show a gun in the first act, by the time the curtain falls, it has to go off.

Read on.

Sarah Palin's Belated Remorse

By Dennis Bernstein
January 10, 2011

As far as we know, the often tearful, new House Speaker John Boehner hasn’t shed a tear over the near-fatal wounding of his Arizona colleague Gabrielle Giffords, but the folksy Sarah Palin sounded a solemn note as she went to her Facebook page to mourn the close-range shooting of the just-reelected Democratic congresswoman.

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Dangerous Right-Wing 'Victimhood'

By Robert Parry
January 10, 2011

The full story of the bloody Tucson, Arizona, rampage that killed six and grievously wounded a U.S. congresswoman has yet to be pieced together, but the tragedy reminds us of the risk to democracy from both violent political rhetoric and reckless exaggerations about “victimhood.”

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The Coming Christian Divide

By the Rev. Howard Bess
January 8, 2011

Five years ago, we became aware that something significant was happening among Christian churches. Young people were leaving churches in huge numbers, most with no intention to ever return.

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The Power of False Narrative

By Robert Parry
January 7, 2011

As the House of Representatives was engaged in its reading of an abridged version of the U.S. Constitution – leaving out parts like the sections on slavery that would make the Founders look bad – I was reminded again of the power of false narrative, especially at a time when the American Right dominates the U.S. media landscape.

Read on.

Preparing for More Reagan Mythology

By William Blum
January 7, 2011

Feb. 6 will mark the centenary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. The conservatives have wasted no time in starting the show.

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Republicans Give Aid to 'Terrorists'

By Lawrence Davidson
January 6, 2011

Here is an interesting piece of news from the Washington Post: "A group of prominent U.S. Republicans" went to Paris last month to attend a rally of the French Committee for a Democratic Iran. This organization just happens to be intimately connected with the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK).

Read on.

Hating the Government Until You Need It

By Michael Winship
January 6, 2011

We probably should have stayed in New Orleans.

Read on.

Justice Scalia's 'Originalist' Hypocrisy

By Robert Parry
January 5, 2011

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia unintentionally revealed the hypocrisy of the Right’s rhetoric about “originalist” interpretations of the U.S. Constitution with his comments about how the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of “equal protection under the law” doesn’t mean equal rights for women.

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Republicans Aim Info-War at Obama

By Robert Parry
January 4, 2011

Finally, Congress appears ready to hold some high-profile hearings – except they won’t be about the most important scandals of the past decade, like how the United States was misled into the Iraq invasion, how the Afghan War was bungled, how torture became a U.S. practice, or how bank deregulation and Wall Street greed nearly destroyed the economy.

Read on.

Should US Extend Nuclear Umbrella?

By Ivan Eland
January 4, 2011

The hawks are at it again.

Read on.

Obama Should Read WikiLeaks Docs

By Ray McGovern
January 3, 2011

Perhaps President Barack Obama should give himself a waiver on the ban prohibiting U.S. government employees from downloading classified cables released by WikiLeaks, so he can better understand the futility of his Afghan War strategy.

Read on.

The Danger of Pro-Israel Extremism

By Lawrence Davidson
January 2, 2011

When we think of the great struggles of our day we almost always think in terms of movements and groups. There are Communists and Fascists, Capitalists and Socialists, Jews and Muslims, Zionists and Christian Fundamentalists, Democrats and Republicans, Western Civilization and its rivals, ad nauseum.

Read on.

A Zoo of Our Own Making

By Phil Rockstroh
December 31, 2010

In an age, when nature is besieged and the political landscape blighted, and one stands, stoop shouldered and wincing into the howling wasteland of epic-scale idiocy extant in the era, a solitary person can feel lost ... marooned inside an increasingly isolated sense of self.

Read on.

Birth of Pakistan's Islamic Extremism

By Alvaro Vargas Llosa
December 31, 2010

Hardly a day goes by without news about the penetration of the Pakistani state by Islamic fanaticism and the connection between that country’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate and radical groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.

Read on.

The Coming War over the Constitution

By Robert Parry
December 30, 2010

Despite a few victories in the lame-duck session of Congress, Democrats and progressives should be under no illusion about the new flood of know-nothingism that is about to inundate the United States in the guise of a return to “first principles” and a deep respect for the U.S. Constitution.

Read on.

The US Media Hit on Helen Thomas

By Danny Schechter
December 29, 2010

In 1960, I co-founded a student magazine at Cornell University called Dialogue. I was a wannabe journalist, fixated on emulating the courageous media personalities of the times from Edward R. Murrow to a distinctive figure I came to admire at Presidential press conferences, a wire service reporter named Helen Thomas.

Read on.

Argentina's Dapper State Terrorist

By Marta Gurvich
December 29, 2010 (Originally published August 19, 1998)

“What is your favorite book," a journalist asked Gen. Rafael Videla, after he ascended to power in Argentina in 1976.

Read on.

Hungary's Embrace of Propaganda

By Abby Martin
December 29, 2010

Naomi Wolf's book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, argues that there are ten steps common to every state that has made the transition into fascism.

Read on.

Obama's Fear of the Reagan Narrative

By Robert Parry
December 28, 2010

At a closed-door White House meeting this month, President Barack Obama justified his repeated concessions to the Right as necessitated by its success over three decades in selling Ronald Reagan’s anti-government message to broad sectors of the American public.

Read on.

Trying More Carrots with Iran

By Ivan Eland
December 28, 2010

Although the recently released WikiLeaks secrets document the well-known animosity of Iran’s neighbors to the radical Islamist regime — with their hopes for a U.S. attack on the nation over its nuclear enrichment program — talks to end the Iranian effort will continue.

Read on.

America's Slide toward Totalitarianism

By Abby Martin
December 27, 2010

In George Orwell’s 1984, Britain is depicted as a totalitarian police state that is ruled by the Party, or Big Brother – an enigmatic, ubiquitous elite that controls society through heavy surveillance, nationalist propaganda and historical revisionism.

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America's Dangerous Self-Deceptions

By Lawrence Davidson
December 27, 2010

Benjamin Disraeli once labeled Britain’s government "an organized hypocrisy." That was in circa 1845. Things have not changed much and by now hypocrisy might well be seen as a common sin of democratic government.

Read on.

The Christian Myth of Jesus's Birth

By the Rev. Howard Bess
December 24, 2010

The Advent season is a fun time. For many Christians, it is the happiest season of the year. The joy comes from the anticipation: “Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king.”

Read on.

An Echo of the 'War on Christmas'

By Michael Winship
December 23, 2010

In the snows of yesteryear, far away from Don’t Ask Don’t Tell or START treaties or the War on Christmas, I see the movie house of my youth, the Playhouse Theater on Chapin Street, the only one in my small hometown -- except for a nearby drive-in that closed during the winter.

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WikiLeaks and the Fight for Privacy

By Nat Parry
December 23, 2010

Everyone should enjoy a basic right to privacy, according to one of the more compelling arguments against WikiLeaks’ “megaleak” of over 250,000 diplomatic cables.

Read on.

Is Barack Obama the Problem?

By Robert Parry
December 22, 2010

Despite some recent victories like repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” many on the American Left are feeling a cumulative disgust toward President Barack Obama, not just for his generally timid policy choices but – even more so – for his failure to articulate and fight for progressive values.

Read on.

Replacing 'They Decade' with Can-Do

By Mort Rosenblum
December 21, 2010

America's “They Decade” is ending, and it is time to heed Edmund Burke. Evil happens when good men do nothing.

Read on.

US Anti-War Resistance on the Rise

By Kevin Zeese
December 21, 2010

Mike Ferner, the president of Veterans for Peace, was speaking outside the White House calling for a “culture of resistance” against U.S. wars. His organization was leading a protest outside the White House at the same moment that President Obama was inside announcing the continuation of the Afghanistan War.

Read on.

WikiLeaks and the Secrets that Deceive

By Danny Schechter
December 20, 2010

In the days of Stalin’s Russia, not only would dissidents “disappear” but images of officials at the May Day reviewing stands would be erased from photographs when their political stars fell.

Read on.

Thoughts at the White House Fence

By Ray McGovern
December 20, 2010

“Show me your company, and I’ll tell you who you are,” my grandmother would often say with a light Irish lilt but a heavy emphasis, an admonition about taking care in choosing what company you keep.

Read on.

What Christmas Owes to Abolitionists

By William Loren Katz
December 19, 2010

Before Christmas emerged as a commercial success, it led a checkered social life. In the 13 American colonies and the early days of the United States, it was known as a festival of heavy drinking and brawling.

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Losing Afghan Hearts and Minds

By Gareth Porter
December 18, 2010

The Obama administration's claim of "progress" in its Afghan war strategy is based on the military seizure of three rural districts outside Kandahar City in October. But those tactical gains have come at the price of further exacerbating the basic U.S. strategic weakness in Afghanistan – the antagonism toward the foreign presence shared throughout the Pashtun south.

Read on.

Barack Obama's Lost Principles

By Lawrence Davidson
December 18, 2010

When President Obama ran for the presidency, his rhetoric was distinctly progressive. He is a very good orator and a superior debater and so we can be forgiven for taking the rhetoric seriously.

Read on.

Curiosities Abound in Assange Case

By Dennis Bernstein
December 18, 2010

DB: Let me get your overview here of Julian Assange and what is happening to him. How do you see this?

Read on.

Hitler's Shadow Reaches toward Today

By Robert Parry
December 17, 2010

The U.S. government protected Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie in the years after World War II and later unleashed the infamous Butcher of Lyon on South America by aiding his escape from French war-crimes prosecutors, according to a new report issued by the National Archives.

Read on.

Journalists Are All Julian Assange

By Robert Parry
December 16, 2010

Whatever the unusual aspects of the case, the Obama administration’s reported plan to indict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for conspiring with Army Pvt. Bradley Manning to obtain U.S. secrets strikes at the heart of investigative journalism on national security scandals.

Read on.

A Treasonous Christmas Eve Truce

By Gary Kohls
December 14, 2010

In World War I, as happens to be true in most wars, the Christian church leadership joined in the patriotic fervor with very un-Christ-like, nationalistic and racial/religious superiority stances.

Read on.

Rabbis' Decree Reveals Anti-Arab Bias

By Lawrence Davidson
December 14, 2010

On Dec. 7, some 50 Israeli rabbis issued a "decree" forbidding their Jewish fellow citizens from "renting or selling homes or land to Arabs and other non-Jews." The "decree" was soon endorsed by an additional 250 Israeli rabbis.

Read on.

'Giant' Holbrooke Failed on Afghan War

By Ray McGovern
December 14, 2010

President Barack Obama hailed Richard Holbrooke, who died Monday, as “one of the giants of American foreign policy.” The President’s kudos reflected the Establishment gravitas that Holbrooke, the special envoy overseeing U.S. policies in Pakistan and Afghanistan, had acquired in his long career — fact and reason to the contrary.

Read on.

WikiLeaks and the Power of Truth

By Rory O'Connor
December 13, 2010

What do Richard Nixon, Liu Xiaobo and Julian Assange have in common?

Read on.

The War to Silence WikiLeaks

By Elliot D. Cohen
December 13, 2010

It's curious that Sweden, the most sexually liberal nation in the world enlisted Interpol to hunt down Julian Assange on sexual charges stemming from a broken or unused condom.

Read on.

Bush v. Gore's Dark American Decade

By Robert Parry
December 12, 2010

Ten years ago, the United States stood at a crossroads though the dimness of the future made it hard for many to see which path led toward a brighter day and which headed toward disaster. But then, a partisan Republican majority of the U.S. Supreme Court made the choice for the nation.

Read on.

How the Right Shapes US 'Reality'

By Lawrence Davidson
December 11, 2010

There is a postmodern position that states "reality is a social construct." In other words, individuals and groups have their own realities and, according to the postmodernists, one reality is as true as another.

Read on.

Big Media's Curious Nixon Judgment

By Robert Parry
December 11, 2010

When Richard Nixon’s presidential library this week released tapes of him making bigoted remarks about blacks, Jews and various ethnic groups, major American news outlets jumped at the juicy details, recounting them on NBC's Nightly News, in the New York Times and elsewhere.

Read on.

Demanding American Exceptionalism

By Don Monkerud
December 10, 2010

A plethora of wannabe presidential candidates is beating the drum again for American exceptionalism, a warmed-over rehash of bravado, jingoism, and chauvinism.

Read on.

Big Media's Guilt in Gary Webb's Death

By Robert Parry
December 9, 2010

It’s been six years since I received the shocking news that journalist Gary Webb had committed suicide with his father’s pistol.

Read on.

Wall Streeters Line Up for Big Bonuses

By Danny Schechter
December 9, 2010

Go, Wall Street, Go!

Read on.

What's Behind the War on WikiLeaks

By Ray McGovern
December 8, 2010

WikiLeaks has teased the genie of transparency out of a very opaque bottle, and powerful forces in America, who thrive on secrecy, are trying desperately to stuff the genie back in.

Read on.

Obama Aids His Enemies on Tax Deal

By Michael Winship
December 8, 2010

There’s this old joke about the French Revolution. A group of prisoners is lined up before the guillotine. One by one, their heads are lopped off. Then, the next man is put in place. The lever is pulled, but the blade stops just inches above his neck.

Read on.

Who's Right? Obama or the 'Base'?

By Robert Parry
December 8, 2010

When President Barack Obama lashed out at the liberal base of the Democratic Party – condemning many on the Left as “sanctimonious” purists – he underscored how profoundly his actions have alienated some of his past supporters and how little he understands why.

Read on.

Getting Sensible about the Koreas

By Ivan Eland
December 7, 2010

Why does the U.S. government’s foreign policy often hinge on the naïve and moralistic expectation that other countries should act against their own interests? Wouldn’t a more realistic U.S. foreign policy be better for everyone concerned?

Read on.

How Jesus's Message Was Hijacked

By the Rev. Howard Bess
December 6, 2010

The great religious divide in the world today is not a divide between Christianity and other religions, but rather within Christendom.

Read on.

Ellsberg Calls for Boycott of Amazon

By Daniel Ellsberg
December 6, 2010

I hope you will join me and others in boycotting Amazon -- inconvenient as that may be -- to provide some counter-pressure to efforts by Senator Lieberman and the Administration to demonize, hound, block and prosecute Wikileaks, and ultimately to control whistleblowing and dissent on the Internet.

Read on.

Killing the Goal of 'Open Diplomacy'

By Lawrence Davidson
December 6, 2010

Given the ahistorical nature of the public mind, few people will recall that as the United States prepared to enter World War I, American citizens were quite exercised over the issue of "open diplomacy."

Read on.