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To all who have assisted in the past. Thank you. Your help is greatly appreciated. Tom Feeley

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Is America Too Corrupt to Keep Up?

By David Sirota

Patriotism may play well with voters on the campaign trail, but corporate cash ultimately rules the day in our nation’s capital. Continue

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As Bad as Bush

By Mike Whitney

His enemies call him a tyrant and a dictator, but he is neither. Hugo Chavez is a tireless champion of the poor and a committed Christian socialist. The only difference between Chavez's type of Christianity and Barack Obama's, is that Chavez walks the walk. Continue

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Olbermann Departs, as Media Consolidate Further

By Juan Cole

It seems Olbermann is too extreme for US television. But Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, now they are mainstream. What universe could that proposition be true in? Continue

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In Case You Missed It
Are We Headed for a Soviet-Style Collapse? - Dmitry Orlov

Video

Author Dmitry Orlov explains his notion of "Superpower Collapse Soup," and compares the modern United States to the USSR prior to that country's collapse in the early 1990s. Orlov argues the two nations are similar in a number of ways, including shortages in the production of crude oil, an expanding military budget, a severe trade deficit, and ballooning foreign debt. Continue

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An Extremist for Love
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Then and Now

By Marianne Williamson

We can dream of an America, and a world, in which love and not money are civilization's bottom line. Continue

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Ten militants killed in eastern Afghanistan: Three suicide attackers detonated their explosives vests during a gunbattle with Afghan and coalition forces that left 10 militants and one civilian dead in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan.
Five killed in Afghanistan attacks: Five people, including two children, died in three separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said.
Three US-led occupation force troops killed in Afghan war: The Taliban have killed at least three foreign soldiers as militants intensify their violent campaign against the US-led forces in the war-ravaged country. Taliban militants claim to have killed three French soldiers in the country's volatile east.
France Speaks of Its Resolve in Afghanistan After a Threat: An audio message attributed to Osama bin Laden warned Friday that the fate of French hostages held by Islamic militants would hinge on the withdrawal of French forces from Afghanistan. In response, the French government promptly reaffirmed its commitment to the military mission there.
Karzai wins Russian backing on milestone visit: "I told the president that we expect to see Afghanistan provide for its own security and state independence -- and that the Russian government was ready to extend Afghanistan thorough support," Medvedev said after the talks.
Pakistan: Three killed in Orakzai bomb blast: “Two soldiers and one civilian were killed in the blast,” Abdul Qadir, a local administration official, told AFP.
Biden: There may have been a better outcome had the US not launched a war on Iraq: US Vice President Joe Biden on Friday said that there may have been a better outcome had former US President George W. Bush's administration not launched a war against Iraq due to the huge losses and injuries that the US army suffered because of the war.
In case you missed it: : After the journey — a UN man’s open letter to Tony Blair: Everything you and your brother-in-arms, Bush, had planned for Iraq has fallen apart, the sole exception being the removal of Saddam Hussein. You chose to point to Iran as the new danger.
Tony Blair calls for Britain and US to launch new attack on Iran: He said the West must be prepared to face down the “looming challenge” of dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Palestinians: Gaza explosion near security fence kills Palestinian man: An explosion in the Gaza Strip near the border fence with Israel killed one Palestinian man and wounded two on Saturday, Palestinian medics said.
Abbas: We will not make unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood: In an interview on Al-Jazeera the PA president warns that if no progress is made by September there could be dangerous repercussions which 'could lead to an Intifada.'
Saudi man sets himself on fire, copying Tunisian scenario : — A Saudi man died after setting himself on fire in the southwestern town of Samta, local media said Saturday, in what could be the latest example of a rash of self-immolations sweeping the region following events in Tunisia.
5,000 rally in Jordan 'bread and freedom' demo: More than 5,000 people rallied in Amman and other cities after weekly prayers on Friday against Jordan's economic policies, demanding "bread and freedom" and that the government resign.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Iran has boosted atomic bomb ability: US scientists: Leading American scientists Friday warned against Western complacency over Iran's nuclear drive, saying in a study that Tehran last year boosted its capacity to build an atomic bomb.
Iran talks end without agreement: No progress made as meetings with world powers over country's disputed nuclear programme conclude in Turkey.
Cables detail secret spy operations: Leaked US diplomatic cables reveal that Australian spy agencies have intensified secret operations with the US and Japan, seeking to obtain sensitive information from China, North Korea and Iran.
Facebook Fights U.S. Pressure Over WikiLeaks: Facebook’s fight against government pressure to cut ties with WikiLeaks and release the personal data of those users might seem to contradict how the social network operates with respect to third-party developers, although neither happens without permission.
WikiLeaks points to US meddling in Haiti: US embassy cables reveal how anxious the US was to enlist Brazil to keep the deposed Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of Haiti
Colombia stepping up anti-drug training of Mexico's army, police: "The American military can indirectly do a lot more through the Colombians than they politically would be able to do directly," said Roderic Ai Camp, an expert on Mexico's military at Claremont McKenna College in California.
Mexico to become first country to use iris scans on ID cards: Mexico will on Monday become the first country to start using iris scans for identity cards, according to the government.
Man found not guilty for refusing to show ID at Sunport: An Albuquerque jury handed down a not guilty verdict for the Seattle man who refused to show his ID to TSA officers at the Sunport.
Keith Olbermann out at MSNBC: "I think the same fantasy popped into the head of everybody in my business who has ever been told what I have been told -- "this will be the last edition of your show." You go to the scene from the movie Network, complete with the pajamas and the raincoat"
The Boondoggle That Wouldn't Die?: The New Cost-Cutting Congress May Spend Billions More On A Jet Engine The Pentagon Doesn't Want
Cooking the books? Accounting Tweak Could Save Fed From Losses: Concerns that the Federal Reserve could suffer losses on its massive bond holdings may have driven the central bank to adopt a little-noticed accounting change with huge implications: it makes insolvency much less likely.