A Declaration of Independence From Israel

By Chris Hedges

Israel was born at midnight May 14, 1948. The U.S. recognized the new state 11 minutes later. The two countries have been locked in a deadly embrace ever since. Continue

Republic to Empire

By Charley Reese

There is no such thing as a flawless politician. We should never expect perfection in anything involving human beings. But there very much is such a thing as character, and that's where we've gotten careless in our choice of leaders. Continue

George W. Bush is One Tough Hombre

By Paul Begala

If you're rich and right-wing and Republican, George is a real softie. As George W. Bush demonstrated in giving Scooter Libby a Get Out of Jail Free Card, he is only compassionate to conservatives. Continue

Reinventing A War Criminal

By Stephen Lendman

Just hours after standing down, the announcement everyone knew in advance came, surprising no one but angering most. Referring to the so-called Quartet, the BBC reported June 27: "Tony Blair is to become a Middle East envoy working on behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU." The London Guardian called him "the Quartet's fifth horseman," an appointment that "beggars belief." Continue

The Mind of the Returning Iraq War Veteran

They Don't Come Back the Same

By Helen Redmond

One thing is clear: President Bush and the other war criminals in the Whitehouse and Pentagon don't give a shit about the lives of soldiers. They are canon fodder and nothing else. Continue

US air strike 'kills 10 Iraqi civilians': A hospital source said the dead included six children under the age of 12. He put the number of wounded at 30.

Baghdad suburb residents flee after US raids: Iraq civilians fear US indiscriminate attacks that usually leave women, children among dead.

6 U.S. occupation troops killed in Iraq: Five U.S. occupation soldiers and a Marine were killed in attacks in Baghdad and Iraq's Anbar and Salahuddin provinces, the military said Monday.

U.S. occupation force helicopter shot down in Iraq: A U.S. helicopter was shot down by Iraqi resistance fighters near Baghdad on Monday but its two pilots escaped with only minor wounds, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

Iraqi Kurds 'tortured prisoners': The US-based rights group, Human Rights Watch, has issued a report detailing torture and abuses in security prisons in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq.

Sex slaves recount ordeals in Iraq: Women looking for work are being tricked into sexual slavery, with some trafficked abroad.

The spoils of war: Iraq Cabinet approves draft of oil law sought by U.S: Washington has pressed its ally al-Maliki to quickly pass the oil law and other pieces of legislation, considered vital to President Bush's attempts to end Iraq's turmoil - alongside a security crackdown by an increased U.S. military force

The spoils of war: : Iraq draws up plans for privatisation gold rush: The Iraqi government has begun preparing the groundwork for what could be one of the biggest privatisations of state-owned assets.

Presstitute and war pimp alert: U.S. Ties Iran to Deadly Iraq Attack : Iranian operatives helped plan a January raid in Karbala in which five American soldiers were killed, an American military spokesman in Iraq said today.

Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:: U.S. general says Iran inciting violence in Iraq: Iran is arming, training and funding members of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah in Iraq and using it as a ``proxy'' to wage war against U.S. forces, a senior U.S. military spokesman said Monday.

War pimp alert: Lieberman: Iran Has Declared War: "The fact is that the Iranian government has by its actions declared war on us," said Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. As a result, he continued, "The United States government has a responsibility to use all instruments at its disposal to stop these terrorist attacks against our soldiers and allies in Iraq, including keeping open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran."

UN's Ban Urges Delay in Push for More Iran Sanctions: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the U.S. and its European allies to delay pursuit of tougher sanctions on Iran while UN inspectors try to break the stalemate over the Islamic government's nuclear work

Iran to test Bushehr nuclear power plant within 2 months : -Iran's atomic energy organization safety chief announced that the Bushehr nuclear plant would be ready for initial tests within two months.

Iranians commemorate victims of passenger plane shot down by USS Vincennes: Helicopters showered flowers into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as family members commemorated the 19th anniversary of the downing of an Iranian passenger plane by a U.S. warship that killed 290 civilians.

Iran, Venezuela to establish joint oil company : The Venezuelan president said in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart on Monday in Assalouyeh of Khuzestan province that the two countries have also agreed to establish an international import and export company.

Afghan, coalition forces kill 83 "Taliban": : Afghan and coalition occupation forces killed at least 50 suspected Taliban in the infamous Tora Bora area of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, while 33 other "rebels" were killed in the southern region, officials said Tuesday

Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan No Coincidence: NATO bombs killed at least 45 civilians in Afghanistan the other day. If you get your news from the front pages of the U.S. mainstream media, you wouldn’t know it.

Moyers on Murdoch : VIDEO:A Bill Moyers essay on Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal.

Afghanistan: Civilians complain about impact of fighting on their lives: On 18 June, heavy fighting between Taliban fighters and NATO forces in the Chora District of Uruzgan Province, resulted in the death of more than 50 civilians, according to local officials.

Pakistani army battles students at pro-Taliban mosque; 9 killed, 140 injured; Clerics at the radical Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, threatened suicide attacks to avenge the 'blood of martyrs' after the day-long clashes, which killed a soldier, four students, a journalist and three bystanders.

US to hunt the Taliban inside Pakistan : Operations inside Pakistan might be carried out independently by the United States, probably with air power, by Pakistani forces acting alone or as joint offensives. In all cases, though, the US will pull the strings, for instance by providing the Pakistanis with information on targets to hit.

Ron Paul: Recapturing the Spirit of Independence: This week Americans will gather around the grill, attend parades and watch fireworks displays, all in the celebration of the signing of our Declaration of Independence. At the same time, we will have thousands of bureaucrats, troops and agents stationed in countries across the globe being paid by American tax dollars.

IDF kills 16-year-old Palestinian carrying toy rifle: The IDF said soldiers opened fire on two Palestinians who appeared to be armed, and only after the fact did it become clear that the gun he was holding was in fact a toy.

Haniya for protests by Gaza workers : The recently dismissed Palestinian prime minister has called for protests against the new emergency government after it refused to pay salaries to workers hired by his Hamas faction in the Gaza Strip.

Eyeing Jordanian involvement, U.S. now rethinking the two-state solution : There are increasing signs, slowly but unmistakably, that the Jordanian option for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is once more assuming a central position on the agenda. Not necessarily along its original 'Jordan is Palestine' formula, but in a more sophisticated composition

Vanunu gets 6-month jail term for foreign contacts : An Israeli court on Monday sentenced Mordechai Vanunu, who in 2004 completed an 18-year prison term for spilling nuclear secrets, to six more months behind bars after he violated a ban on speaking to foreigners.

Soldiers on move inside Lebanon siege camp : Lebanese soldiers made small advances Tuesday in a refugee camp where they have been fighting Arab Islamist fighters for the past six weeks

Syria describes U.S. travel ban as absurd: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said the move to stop the Syrian officials from entering the United States "did not need comment because of its absurdity."

Somali official killed in occupied Mogadishu : Somali gunmen have shot dead a senior government official in a Mogadishu district while an explosion in a munitions dump left behind by African Union (AU) peacekeepers killed a teenager, officials said.

Mexico poll loser rallies followers : Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who still insists he won the election a year ago, threatened to rouse the masses if the government tried to privatise the country's state-owned oil industry

'al-Qaeda' puts on big shoes, red nose, takes custard pie: The "car bomber" hysteria gripping much of the British and international media over the weekend has had a bucket of cold water from the Reg already, but just one bucket doesn't seem enough for this kind of outbreak.

Video: The Modern Racist Paradigm : This is a well researched documentary that exposes the white Media's long-term agenda to standardize white people as the "social norm" fo general society. Through the globalization and centralization of the white media and its constant propagation of repetitive images depicting white people in positive roles and as protagonists while usually depicting Non-Whites as background characters and antagonists

Defense in Padilla case chips away at U.S. terrorism expert: Defense lawyers for Jose Padilla chipped away Monday at the credibility of the government's terrorism expert witness, who said he could not disclose details about some of his work because of secrecy agreements with unnamed foreign governments.

Editorials Hit Libby's Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card : The bloggers, politicians, and TV pundits weighed in quickly Monday after President Bush took the surprisingly sudden step of commuting Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case. Now newspaper editorials are appearing, and nearly all of them have condemned the Bush act.

Bush refusal to rule out full pardon for Libby: While some Republicans applauded the decision, many were muted. Some conservatives grumbled that Libby should have been granted a pardon.

Libby move helps seal Bush's Iraq legacy: President George W. Bush on Tuesday refused to rule out a pardon for former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a day after sparing him from prison in a case that helped seal his Iraq legacy and gave ammunition to Democrats.

Reason for Commutation: Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks : Lewis "Scooter" Libby testified to a federal grand jury that he had received "approval from the President through the Vice President" to divulge portions of a National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to the court papers

In case you missed it: Bush Directed Cheney To Counter War Critic : Bush told investigators that he was unaware that Cheney had directed I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, to covertly leak the classified information to the media instead of releasing it to the public after undergoing the formal governmental declassification processes.

Reason for Commutation:: President Implicated In Libby CIA Leak By Cheney's Hand-Written Note: Copies of handwritten notes by Vice President Dick Cheney, introduced at trial by defense attorneys for former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, would appear to implicate George W. Bush in the Plame CIA Leak case.

McDermott to Cheney: ‘Resign or face impeachment’ : Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) told Vice President Dick Cheney to “resign or face impeachment” Thursday night as three more House Democrats lent their support to a plan to impeach the vice president.

1984: Lieberman calls for wider use of surveillance cameras : Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said Sunday he wants to “more widely” use surveillance cameras across the country.

Euro pounding the U.S. dollar: The dollar traded within a cent of a record low against the euro and the weakest in 26 years versus the British pound on speculation higher interest rates in Europe will lure investors away from U.S. assets.

Woman sues US prison over son's 86-minute execution: The mother of a US man whose 2006 execution took 86 minutes and involved sticking needles into him 19 times has sued the prison team which oversaw the execution for civil rights violations.

07/02/07

"Free" & Ruined Lives.

By Layla Anwar

I want to burn Plato's Republic and spit on your Constitution, on your Founding Fathers, on your Laws... Continue

The Unintended Consequences Of The “Cakewalk War”

By Paul Craig Roberts

The over-stretched American Empire hasn’t any troops to send to northern Iraq. NATO, whose charter was to defend Western Europe from Soviet invasion should have been disbanded two decades ago. Today NATO functions as an auxiliary US force and has been sent to Afghanistan, where it is being defeated like the British and Russians before it. Continue

The Dirty Word

By Uri Avnery

OCCUPATION? What occupation? Where occupation? Anybody seen any occupation? Continue

Slaying Our Dreams: Created Our Nightmares

Jim Kirwan

The joys of multinational Corporate power should have limits placed upon them: just as the people who work for Corporations need to have their own separate and inviolate "Bill of Rights" for anyone that has to deal with corporate-anything. We have the power to demand that the government we pay for must work for all of us and not for those who seek to steal our lives and dreams. Continue

Bush Commutes Libby Prison Sentence :

President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby from a 2-year prison term in the CIA leak case Monday, delivering a political thunderbolt in a highly charged criminal case. Continue

Iraq: At least 75 Killed as U.S. Occupation Grinds On: Seventeen bodies were found in different parts of the capital on Monday, police said.

Five U.S.occupation troops killed in Iraq: - Four U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed in various attacks in Iraq on Sunday, the U.S. military said on Monday.

Lethal US raid could stir further difficulties for PM : A US search early Saturday for fighters allegedly linked to Iran turned into a firefight in which the military said it killed 26 militants. The Iraqi government rebuked the Americans for carrying out the raid in a Baghdad slum without its permission, and local leaders said many innocent bystanders had been hurt.

Gwynne Dyer: What's in store for the Middle East after Iraq? : The U.S. defeat in Iraq has dramatically raised the prestige of Islamist revolutionaries throughout the Arab world and beyond.

Washington uneasy over Brown’s anti-war ministers: Gordon Brown’s appointment of ministers critical of the Bush Administration and the Iraq war has triggered unease in Washington after the departure of its close ally, Tony Blair.

‘US consent won’t be sought for Iraq incursion if security is at risk’ : Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said it was a responsibility of the United States to take measures against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq and that Turkey would maintain its pressure on Washington to the very end to this effect, but made clear that Ankara won't seek approval from the United States when it sees its security is at risk.

Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran?: U.S.: Iran Helped in Deadly Iraq Strike : U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner also accused Iran of using its Lebanese ally, the Shiite militia Hezbollah, as a "proxy" to arm Shiite militants in Iraq.

Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran Iran 'baring its teeth' in Afghanistan, officials say: In public, Afghanistan has played down US and British allegations that Iran is feeding weapons to Taliban insurgents, but in private, officials here say the charges are true -- and worrying.

Afghan elders say 45 civilians killed in air strikes: Village elders said Sunday they had recovered the bodies of 45 civilians, mostly women and children, killed in foreign air strikes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation.

US: Afghan civilian deaths 'unfortunate': The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday it was "unfortunate" that civilians have been caught up in the NATO-led military operation in Afghanistan, calling war an imperfect science.

Seven Afghan policemen killed in blast: Seven Afghan policemen were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle outside the southern city of Kandahar on Monday, police said.

Two more British occupation force soldiers killed in clashes with the Taliban: Two British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan this weekend, taking the toll of British deaths since the start of hostilities in 2001 to 63.

Israeli occupation forces kill Fatah activist in West Bank: Israeli occupation soldiers killed a local Palestinian resistance leader during a shootout in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin on Monday, security sources on both sides said.

Olmert: If Abbas reunite with Hamas – we won't talk to him: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at a Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Monday that "the minute Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) goes back to embracing Hamas, we will stop talking to him

Finding Lessons in Gaza's Bloodshed: The Hamas-Fatah clash that has culminated into a mini-civil war in recent weeks is both old and new, and while some of its elements are uniquely Palestinian, much of it was manufactured at the behest of US-Israeli intelligence and governments.

Israel is Bad for Jewish Ethics: One group of religious Jews believes Israel is anathema to Jewish ethics. On June 10, a group of Naturei Karta (Guardians of the City) joined a demonstration in Washington DC to protest the Israeli occupation of Palestine and of Syria's Golan Heights.

Iraq-trained doctor among bomb arrests in UK-source: A doctor who trained in Iraq and worked at a hospital in Scotland is one of seven people arrested by British anti-terrorism police hunting those behind attempted car bombings, a police source said on Monday

This illegal war made Scotland a target for terrorists: Saturday was indeed a very sad day for us all in Scotland. For the first time in centuries Scotland has become a target for acts of terrorism. During the IRA terrorist campaign Scotland was not considered a target. However, Tony Blair and the Labour party, including the former first minister Jack McConnell, who supported the illegal Iraqi war, have now made Scotland an inevitable prime target by sending our troops to Iraq.

Unpicking the Lockerbie truth: Our correspondent, who has covered the case for 18 years, explains why the conviction may be overturned

Antiwar Radio: Charles Goyette Interviews Seymour Hersh: Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh discusses the torture of innocents at Abu Ghraib, the persecution of general Taguba, who led the initial investigation and the cover-up of the fact that it was all ordered from the very top.

Howard Zinn: Put away the flags: On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

John Perkins: The Secret History of the American Empire : Video: In his new book, Mr. Perkins argues that the United States uses its foreign policy to further U.S. business interests around the globe, often to the detriment of poor countries.

In case you missed it: The Corporation : VIDEO: In the fifteenth century, the enclosure movement began to put fences around public grazing lands so that they might be privately owned and exploited. Today, every molecule on the planet is up for grabs. In a bid to own it all, corporations are patenting animals, plants, even your DNA.

07/01/07

'Abu Henry' And The Mysterious Silence

By Robert Fisk

"Abu Henry" says we may have to remain in Afghanistan for decades to protect Afghans from the Taliban. Our ambassador in Kabul - Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, KCMG, LVO, to be precise - apparently sees no contradiction in this extraordinary prediction. Continue

Gen Taguba Unveils Abu Ghraib, US Gulag

" The Abused Are Only Iraqis !"

By K Gajendra Singh

The current direction of US led Western civilization , if you can call it so, is hurtling along retrograde evolution of human animal ; away from the divine and spiritual moorings and identity as all religions discovered intuitively over millennia to a world of heedless and headless consumerism like an unerring laser to wards self destruction, Nuclear bombs and cold nights or climate catastrophes and apocalypse. Continue

Tony Blair Failed Africa. Gordon Brown Can Do Much Better.   

 By Salim Lone

After the multiple promises Blair made and betrayed, no one will want to get too excited about Mr. Brown’s. But there are credible reasons to hope he will do much better. Continue

Bled White

By Glenn David Cox

The puppets are now the puppet masters, sales of treasury bills used to finance America's debts are falling and yields must increase to keep demand up. The Bush administration recently chided the Chinese to buy more American goods but they know the Chinese no longer want anything which we might could sell them. Continue

Iraqi political party alleges 350 dead in US occupation forces attack: Sunday 01 July 2007 17:02The Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political faction in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet, published a statement on Sunday alleging that more than 350 people have been killed by a US military operation in Baquba to hunt down al-Qaeda-affiliated members.

At least 53 killed in another bloody day of U.S. occupation: The bodies of 16 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad

Sunni politician calls for U.N. and Arab intervention to solve Iraq crisis: Abdul-Nasser al-Janabi said he made a mistake when he decided to run for parliament in 2005. He spoke to The Associated Press in Jordan, where he announced this weekend that he was quitting parliament to support the insurgency.

Australia plans to withdraw troops from Iraq: report: Australian Prime Minister John Howard is secretly planning to begin withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February 2008, Australian media reported on Sunday.

PM denies having secret plan to withdraw Iraq troops: PRIME Minister John Howard has denied the existence of a secret plan, revealed by a senior military source, to begin pulling Australian troops out of Iraq by February.

U.S. puppet: Iraq minister warns of grave danger of U.S. troop pullout: Iraq will disintegrate and turn into a safer haven for al Qaeda than Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban if American troops withdraw prematurely, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday.

Top Republican wants orderly US pullout from Iraq : Senator Richard Lugar, the most prominent Republican yet to break ranks with the US administration over Iraq, called Sunday for an "orderly" withdrawal of US troops in the coming months.

Iraqi civilian death toll falls in June: A U.S. military spokesman said the decrease was encouraging but that it was too early to attribute it to the crackdown. "The synchronized effort only began two weeks ago. It's too early to declare a trend," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver.

Puppet raises gas prices: Iraq hikes prices of fuel, troubles reported : The Iraqi Oil Ministry decided to hike prices of fuel in response to calls by the International Monetary Fund and the Paris Cub, an official said on Sunday.

100 Civilians Killed In U.S.-NATO Air attack In Occupied Afghanistan: Just a week after Afghan President Hamid Karzai chastised international forces for being "careless," Afghan officials reported Saturday that possibly 100 or more civilians had been killed in a NATO and U.S.-led "assault".

Air attacks kill 60 civilians, 35 insurgents in occupied Afghanistan: Casualty estimates varied widely. Local government officials said up to 60 civilians and 35 insurgents had been killed. Nato did not give an estimate of casualties, but a Western military official said privately that about eight civilians had been killed.

Karzai orders bomb deaths probe : A local inquiry into Friday's strikes found 45 civilians and 62 Taleban fighters died but US-led coalition forces and Nato question the figure.

In case you missed it: Breaking The Silence: VIDEO A hard hitting special report into the "war on terror" - Award winning journalist John Pilger

Taliban rockets kill 8 Afghan civilians : Taliban rockets killed eight Afghan civilians in the eastern Kunar province, deputy provincial police chief Abdul Sabour Allayar said Sunday.

Two British occupation force troops killed in Afghanistan : The British Ministry of Defense said Sunday that two British occupation force soldiers were killed this weekend in Afghanistan and another four were left injured.

Concern mounts for Palestinians in Lebanon siege camp: "The humanitarian situation is getting worse and worse," said Virginia de la Guardia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), pointing out that water and electricity remain cut since the fighting broke out on May 20.

20 pro-government Lebanese legislators have flown out in last 10 days;: . A senior Arab intelligence official said Lebanese lawmakers who are allied with US-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora have been advised to seek temporary shelter abroad after names appeared on a hit list.

New Israeli air attacks on Gaza kill seven: The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) lunched two air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip yesterday. Two attacks targeted a metal workshop in the middle Gaza refugee camp of al-Maghazi, killing four Palestinians and destroying the workshop. Earlier, another attack targeted a car in south Gaza's town of Khan Younis, killing three.

Israel to begin transferring $50 million in frozen funds to Palestinians to bolster Abbas : Israel has frozen roughly $600 million, mostly customs duties that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, since Hamas won Palestinian elections in January 2006. Israel said Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, could use the money to fund attacks

Hamas deploys troops alongside Gaza-Egypt border : The sacked Hamas government called for the deployment following fears of attempts by the militant groups to bomb the border and allow thousands of Palestinians who stuck in Egypt back to Gaza.

Jordan’s king rejects confederation with Palestinians: Jordan’s King Abdullah II flatly rejected a confederation with the Palestinians on Sunday, calling any such proposal at the current time a conspiracy’ against his kingdom and the Palestinians, a local newspaper reported.

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's the Quartet's fifth horseman: Tony Blair's appointment as Middle East envoy beggars belief. But then his Texan benefactor has form on jobs-for-the-boys

In case you missed it: MI5 'helped IRA buy bomb parts in US': A FORMER British Army mole in the IRA has claimed that MI5 arranged a weapons-buying trip to America in which he obtained detonators, later used by terrorists to murder soldiers and police officers.

Must Watch: Bill Moyers Interview With Victor Gold: Video: Deputy Press Secretary to Barry Goldwater during the 1964 campaign, Victor Gold discusses where he believes the Republican Party has gone astray in the last twenty years.

Sicko (2007) - Michael Moore : Video: A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

06/30/07

Imminent Crises: Threats and Opportunities
 
 By Noam Chomsky
 
Regrettably, there are all too many candidates that qualify as imminent and very serious crises. Several should be high on everyone’s agenda of concern, because they pose literal threats to human survival: the increasing likelihood of a terminal nuclear war, and environmental disaster, which may not be too far removed. Continue

The Bush/Cheney Holocaust in Iraq

Criminality, Immorality, Incompetence and Desperation

By Walter C. Uhler

In order to support their BIG LIE about the grave and growing threat to the U.S. posed by Iraq, the Bush/Cheney regime not only pressured the intelligence community to produce conclusions that supported its own preconceptions about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ties to al-Qaida, it also embellished and lied about that intelligence. Moreover, it fabricated damning intelligence where the intelligence community found none. Continue

Time Is Right for New Pentagon Papers

By Amy Goodman

Of the Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Mike Gravel is probably the least well recognized. His dark-horse candidacy may be the butt of jokes on the late-night comedy shows, but that doesn’t faze former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg: “Here is a senator who was not afraid to look foolish. That is the fear that keeps people in line all their lives.” Continue

Confronting Empire

Freedom Next Time

Video - John Pilger

The great liberal thinker Walter Lippmann once described the public as a bewildered herd. This contempt is shared today by those who claim his elite legacy, in politics and the media. Why? Because they fear that the so-called herd will suddenly change direction. Video and Transcript.

The Peace Envoy

By Gilad Atzmon

What a great day for peace enthusiasts! A new envoy to the Middle East has been appointed for the Quartet, and it’s no other than the former British PM, Tony Blair. Blair, the man who gave the Israelis the green light to flatten Beirut. Continue

The Fed's role in the Bear Stearns Meltdown            

By Mike Whitney
 
The Bank for International Settlements issued a warning this week that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have created an enormous equity bubble which could lead to another “Great Depression” Continue

Iraq: At least 82 killed in another bloody day of U.S. occupation: .US. occupation forces killed an estimated 26 "suspected militants" and detained 17 others during overnight raids in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City

Iraq condemns U.S. raid; 26 Iraqis killed: Residents, police and hospital officials said eight civilians were killed in their homes and angrily accused U.S. forces of firing blindly on the innocent.

War pimp alert: Deadly US raids kills 26 inSadr City : "It is believed that the "suspected terrorists" have close ties to Iranian terror networks and are responsible for facilitating the flow of lethal aid into Iraq."

2 US occupation force soldiers charged with murder of Iraqi Civiillians : The U.S. military said on Saturday it had charged two U.S. Army soldiers with the "premeditated murder" of three Iraqis.

Playing politics with Iraqi lives: Dems to confront Bush again on Iraq pullout: Pelosi, Reid say House and Senate will vote in July -- won't wait for report on surge

Standing on the shattered bodies : McCain: “I am going to Iraq on Monday”: — Normally VIP visits to Iraq are kept under wraps, at least until the day of the trip. But Senator John McCain Friday night said he’s going to Iraq next week.

No evidence ties al Qaida to recent bombing of a Shiite shrine: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that the U.S. has no "hard evidence" that the Sunni Muslim insurgent group al Qaida in Iraq was responsible for the recent bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, although Bush administration officials cite the attack as proof that al Qaida in Iraq is stoking sectarian violence.

Brown must seize the day - and break with Bush now: The new man in No 10 was a fervent supporter of the war. The only way to signal a fresh start is by taking Britain out of Iraq

Over 120 Afghan civilians, Taliban killed in coalition airstrike: Over 120 Afghan civilians and Taliban fighters were killed in a coalition airstrike following an ambush on Afghan and US forces in the country's south, officials said Saturday.

U.S air attacks kill 65 Afghan civilians: mayor : Anti-Taliban air strikes by US- and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan killed 65 villagers including children, a local official said Saturday, amid growing anger here over civilian deaths.

Israeli occupation forces kills 7 in series of Gaza air strikes: Israel killed seven Palestinians in a series of air attacks in Gaza on Saturday, including three senior Islamic Jihad militants and a rocket manufacturer for a wing of Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group.

Two civilians among seven murdered by Israeli Gaza air attacks: Two civilians were among seven Palestinians killed in two Israeli occupation air strikes in Gaza on Saturday

Abbas advisor says Hamas fighting collaborators: The Gaza events were not a war between Fatah and Hamas; but between Hamas and Fatah collaborators who served the Americans and the Israelis, said a senior Fatah advisor on Wednesday.

Tony Blair: A true friend of Israel: "A true friend of the State of Israel," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of his outgoing British counterpart Tony Blair. He was appointed this week as special envoy for the Middle East Quartet with a portfolio focused on Palestinian economic and political reform

Lebanese army stands accused as Palestinians bury their dead : The Lebanese army on Saturday stood accused of using "excessive force" to disperse a protest in which two men were shot dead near a besieged camp, as Palestinian mourners buried one of the dead.

US bans Syrians with Lebanon links : The US president has banned Syrian and Lebanese officials whom Washington accuses of undermining the Lebanese government from entering the United States, the White House has said.

US ban “honours” ex-ministers in Beirut: Former ministers who figure on a list of Syrian and Lebanese personalities banned from entering the United States said on Saturday they felt “honoured” but at the same time angered by the decision.

U.S. Military Finds No Takers To Host North Africa Command: A U.S. delegation seeking a home for a new military command in Africa got a chilly reception during a tour of the northern half of the continent this month, running into opposition even in countries that enjoy friendly relations with the Pentagon.

Russians test ballistic missile : The weapon, capable of breaching anti-missile defence systems, flew almost the whole length of the country.

UK Car Bomb: Terror link not found, British say: British authorities found no link between a defused London car bomb and any terrorist group during the early hours of their investigation, two officials in Washington said Friday.

Heavy Weapons Teams at U.S. Airports After Jeep Crashes and Burns at Glasgow Terminal: Attack Bears All Characteristics of Terror Incident

Juan Cole: Glasgow Airport Incident : The eyewitness description suggests rank amateurs with no training. They didn't actually get close enough to do much damage, and their behavior suggests that something went very wrong-- what with one of them on fire and trying to get into the trunk.

In case you missed it: UK agents 'did have role in IRA bomb atrocities': A human rights watchdog has handed a report to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which concludes that two British agents were central to the bombings of three army border installations in 1990.

US intelligence czar wants power to snoop on all non-Americans: US intelligence czar wants congress to pass a bill that would allow American spies to snoop electronically on non-Americans anywhere in the world by forcing telecommunication carriers to comply in exchange for immunity from prosecution by affected individuals.

Seventh official quits Justice Department : An assistant attorney general at the Justice Department announced her resignation on Friday, becoming the seventh official to quit the department since the Democratic-led Congress launched an investigation in March into the firing of nine federal prosecutors.

Research on Human Nature Is Cause For Optimism: ”We have a pending fortuitous marriage of science and morality of the most profound sort.”

06/29/07

CIA Terror Bombings, Bob Gates, and The Rise of Hezbollah

By Michael Schwartz

While the atrocities reported in the "family jewels" are certainly atrocious in their own right, they are actually a tiny corner of a larger history that includes all manner of crimes against humanity, from mayhem against individuals to full fledged state terrorism. Continue

Thanks for Dick Cheney
 
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
 
When someone in high elected office shows the nation how vulnerable our Constitution is, we should be thankful for the wakeup call. Like many ruthless dictators, evil kings, and monster generals, Dick Cheney is the leading practitioner of the ends-justify-the-means mentality, where only his vision of the desired ends counts. Continue

Mcmansions, SUVs, Mega-Churches and the Baghdad Embassy:

Life Among Dim and Brutal Giants

By Phil Rockstroh

A massive emblem of the arrogance of power, the embassy is a testament to how the noxious vapors of cultural self-deception can be made manifest in reenforced concrete, armed watchtowers and razor wire. . Continue

5 U.S. Occupation Force Soldiers Killed in Iraq Attack : Iraqi resistance fighters launched a deadly coordinated attack on an American combat patrol, detonating a roadside bomb, then firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the soldiers, the U.S. military said Friday. Five troops were killed.

Iraq's main Sunni bloc to boycott cabinet: Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc is suspending its participation in cabinet because of legal steps being taken against one of its ministers, the head of the bloc, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said on Friday.

U.S. Shields an Accused Iraqi Killer: The American Embassy in Baghdad is offering de facto protection to the Iraqi culture minister, who an Iraqi judge this week charged with the attempted murder of a fellow parliamentarian, Mithal al-Alusi.

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