Posts
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran
Iran Threatens to Pull Out of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
By (Stringer/Reuters)
The chorus of fury came as world powers reacted with renewed concern at Iran’s announcement of plans to build ten new nuclear sites and Western leaders warned of imminent new sanctions to punish Tehran’s defiance. Continue
Iraq: The War Was Illegal
By Brian Brady
Then Attorney General Goldsmith was 'pinned to the wall and bullied into keeping quiet' while the Prime Minister kept the Cabinet in the dark. Continue
Regime Termination
The Truth of UK's Guilt Over Iraq
By Scott Ritter
President George Bush was able to disguise his blatant militarism behind the false sincerity of his ally Blair and his own secretary of state, Colin Powell. The president's task was made far easier given the role of useful idiot played by much of the mainstream media in the US and Britain, where reporters and editors alike dutifully repeated both the hyped-up charges levied against Iraq and the false pretensions that a diplomatic solution was being sought. Continue
All Politicians Are Alike
An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore
By Michael Moore
Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. Continue
You Get What you Vote For!
By Cindy Sheehan
The so-called anti-war movement currently finds itself in somewhat of a quagmire: What to do when the man you raised money for, volunteered for, and yes, even voted for, actually fulfills one of his most repulsive campaign promises? Continue
Americans Are Deeply Involved In Afghan Drug Trade
By Glen Ford
The U.S. set the stage for the Afghan (and Pakistan) war eight years ago, when it handed out drug dealing franchises to warlords on Washington's payroll. Now the Americans, acting as Boss of All Bosses, have drawn up hit lists of rival, “Taliban” drug lords. “It is a gangster occupation, in which U.S.-allied drug dealers are put in charge of the police and border patrol.” Continue
United Against Spitting
By Gilad Atzmon
Three days ago the Israeli Right wing paper The Jerusalem Post published an exposé of the growing tendency of Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem to spit on their Christian neighbours’ Continue
Housing Meltdown, Ground Zero
The American home-owning dream on life support.
By Andy Kroll
The turnout was staggering: close to 45,000 desperate homeowners showed up during NACA's five-day stand at the Cow Palace for the chance to renegotiate their disastrous subprime mortgages or sky-high interest rates or interest-only payments. Continue
"Only The Super Rich Can Save Us"
Cindy Sheehan Interviews Ralph Nader
Click here to listen
Crisis in Dubai: The Nightmare Scenario
By Mike Whitney
Abu Dhabi wants to send its wastrel younger brother a wake-up-call by forcing Dubai to restructure its debt. That means that banks, bondholders and contractors will have to take a haircut, which is not surprising given the abysmal condition of the commercial real estate market. Continue
President Sarah Palin
By Margaret Kimberley
Smug Democrats love to imagine they are a species apart from Sarah Palin, the “pit bull with lipstick.” However, U.S. political history teaches us never to overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate, or trust a Democrat – many of whom were Republicans not very long ago. At root, Palin's supporters are “white nationalists,” the same people that adored Ronald Reagan and, yes, George Bush. So why is it so hard to imagine a Palin presidency? Continue
Addicted to Nonsense
By Chris Hedges
We are waiting for our cue to walk onstage and be admired and envied, to become known and celebrated. Nothing else in life counts. Continue
Afghan police say 27 Taliban killed in clash: Afghan border police said Sunday they had killed 27 Taliban-linked insurgents and captured a fighter from Chechnya in a fierce battle backed by coalition air support that lasted several hours.
6 Afghan policemen killed, 2 wounded: The incident -- the second time in two months that a police officer has turned on colleagues -- is a reminder of the steep challenge NATO troops face as they work to build a national police force that will be able to provide security and allow international forces to eventually leave.
Body of U.S. soldier found after 27 days in NW Afghanistan: - Body of a U.S. soldier who along with his colleague went missing in Badghis province northwest of Afghanistan early this month was found after 27 days, a private television channel Tolo broadcast Monday.
Obama issues Afghan war plan to military officials: President Obama ordered top military leaders to begin carrying out his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, a move that is believed to include the deployment of more than 30,000 additional troops into the eight year old conflict, the White House confirmed Monday.
9,000 Newly Deployed Marines to Target Taliban Bastion: : The extra Marines will be the first to move into the country as part of Obama's escalation of the eight-year-old war. They will double the size of the U.S. force in the southern province of Helmand and will provide a critical test for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's struggling government and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy.
Brown confirms 500 more troops for Afghanistan : Brown told Parliament in London that the additional troops now had the sufficient level of supplies and equipment to be deployed in southern Helmand province from 'early December.'
West turned blind eye to corruption, former Afghan narcotics minister says: Corruption infecting the Afghan government's highest levels, coupled with unhelpful Western meddling along the way, crippled efforts to effectively battle the country's burgeoning opium trade, says the country's former counter-narcotics minister.
Pakistan: More than 60 militants killed in tribal region: Commandant Brigadier Fayyaz told a media conference on Monday that security forces had cleared the area of militants
Obama offers new role for Pakistan: President Barack Obama has offered Pakistan an expanded strategic partnership, including additional military and economic cooperation, while warning with unusual bluntness that its use of insurgent groups to pursue policy goals "cannot continue."
You’ve had eight years, now get us bin Laden, Brown urges Pakistan: Gordon Brown told Pakistan to “take out” Osama bin Laden yesterday as Western frustration at its failure to capture the al-Qaeda leader burst into the public glare.
Pakistan's president gives up control of nuclear weapons: Embroiled in a major crisis that threatens his political future, President Asif Ali Zardari has given up control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons and has pledged to relinquish his power to dissolve parliament.
Two people killed in Iraq's Diyala violence: A paramilitary member and a civilian were killed, three people injured, and eight others detained in separate incidents overnight and dawn across Iraq's volatile province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad
Lord Goldsmith 'warned Tony Blair Iraq war could be illegal' in 2002: Tony Blair was warned by his Attorney General eight months before the invasion of Iraq that war would be illegal, it has emerged.
Iraqis start tuning into new Saddam Channel: The late Iraqi dictator is lauded on a mysterious satellite channel that began broadcasting on the Islamic calendar's anniversary of his 2006 execution.
Salehi: Iran will construct 10 new enrichment sites, reaction to P5+1 move: "The West adopted an attitude toward Iran which made the Iranian government to pass the ratification on construction of ten sites similar to the Natanz enrichment facility," he added.
Iran's speaker: Don't gamble on nuclear issue: “I believe there is still room for diplomacy and it is useful for them [World powers] to adopt a diplomatic option,” Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told reporters in a Monday press conference.
World powers threaten new sanctions against defiant Iran: World powers threatened new sanctions against Iran on Monday after Tehran defiantly pledged to build 10 more uranium enrichment plants, but Russia warned against further escalating the dispute.
Iran says building 10 new enrichment sites "not bluff": "They need to wait and see in the future that what we said was not bluff," Rahimi told reporters, referring to reports by western media that suppose the construction of 10 new nuclear enrichment plants in Iran is a bluff. "We need to get prepared for the reactors that produce nuclear fuel," he was quoted as saying.
Why is China opposed to raising pressure on Iran?: China and Russia supported the International Atomic Energy Agency's rebuke of Iran for building a uranium enrichment plant in secret, but both countries have long blocked the imposition of stringent economic sanctions on Iran.
Exclusive: Russia to start Iran nuclear plant in 2010: The United States previously criticized Russia's involvement in the project but has dropped its opposition and now says the station removes any need for Iran to have its own enrichment program.
Iran says Russia to get priority in power projects: Salehi, speaking after a briefing with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko who was on a visit to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, said Russia would get priority as Iran sought to build 20,000 megawatts of new generation capacity.
Russia to Build Petrochemical Plants in Iran: "It is possible to develop major chemical complexes here (in Iran) on the basis of oil and gas resources," Shmatko told reporters following an Iran-Russia joint economic commission meeting here in Tehran on Sunday.
Another Railway Blast in Russia : officials: "A railway was hit by an explosion before a train travelling from Tyumen to (Azerbaijan's capital) Baku passed. The train did not derail, though it dragged the wagons some 150 meters along the damaged rails," a local police official told Russian news agencies.
Israeli army storms NE Gaza Strip: A group of Israeli soldiers, backed by armored vehicles and two armored bulldozers stormed early on Monday an area east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip, local sources and witnesses said.
Hamas 'on verge of Gaza war probe': In a rare interview, Ismail Haniya, the deposed Palestinian prime minister and the senior Hamas official in Gaza, told Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad what he would personally be willing to do for reconciliation with the rival Fatah movement. He also addressed allegations that Hamas tortured political opponents and suppressed their political rights.
Israel ready to release 1,000 Palestinians: First official confirmation of prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit captured in 2006
Honduras opposition claims victory in presidential vote: As Honduras is soaked in a political crisis, opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo claims he won a presidential election that has been condemned by Latin American leaders.
Senate Report: Bin Laden Was 'Within Our Grasp' In 2001: The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man.
Police killed in 'ambush' outside US Air Force base: Four police officers were shot dead in a cold-blooded ambush at a coffee shop on the edge of a US Air Force base in America’s Pacific Northwest on Sunday.
Tempers Flare At Anti-War Rally At Travis AFB: A Saturday rally led by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at Travis Air Force Base nearly ended in a brawl when a military veteran physically confronted the protesters.
Report: FBI paid controversial NJ blogger for help: A New Jersey blogger about to stand trial on charges he made death threats against federal judges apparently was paid by the FBI in its battle against domestic terrorism, according to a published report.
Release of secret reports delayed: President Obama will maintain a lid of secrecy on millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year, according to administration officials.
CIA pulls SWIFT one to get peak at your bank records: European Union governments have given in to the pressure and appear set to make a last-minute agreement with the United States to allow its intelligence agencies to monitor bank accounts and transactions across the bloc.
Food Stamp Use Soars: A program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.
The Poorest Immigrants Subsidize Healthcare for Everyone Else: Americans know it is wrong to discriminate based on immutable characteristics such as sex or race—but convincing them to protect the act of being an immigrant remains a challenge that cuts across social justice issues such as health reform.
