|
Last Updated: Oct 27th, 2010 - 15:12:34 |
Special Reports
A tale of two families’ 9/11 deaths
By Jerry Mazza
The Bavis family, after filing for a trial in
2002, has finally received the first and only civil trial for their son, Mark,
who died on United Airlines Flight 175 that hit Tower 2 on 9/11/2001. There was
mention, too, in the New
York Times that “Court approval is likely soon in the settlement of a case
involving Louis Mariani, who was also on that flight.” His widow Ellen Mariani
has yet to receive a trial or settlement.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:20
Commentary
Every day is Halloween in the Empire: The zombie apocalypse of duopoly
By Phil Rockstroh
Because, at this time of the year, we take
pleasure in being frightened, let’s shuffle through the US Empire’s House of
Horrors. On our tour, we cringe before: Brain-eating zombies of exponential
destruction; soul-sucking vampires of eternal self-justification; right-wing,
talk show demons whose wrathful voices rage into empty air; road-rage
werewolves; hungry ghosts shuffling the aisles of supermarkets, convenience
stores, corporate restaurant franchises and the food courts of shopping malls;
and, running on a continuous video loop, The Fat, Mindless Blob That Ate the
Planet.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:18
Commentary
The psychopaths are trembling
By Siv O’Neall
Playwright and poet Harold Pinter, in his Nobel
prize acceptance speech on 7 December 2005, at the Swedish Academy in
Stockholm, made an unforgettable speech, fiercely condemning the Bush/Blair
attack on Iraq and, in general, U.S. arrogance and lawlessness, saying, “The
invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism,
demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law.”
Oct 27, 2010, 00:16
Donate
We have been suffering equipment problems and need your support more than ever
Without your financial support, there will be no
Online Journal. So please donate whatever you can afford to help us pay our
monthly expenses and replace equipment.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:14
Commentary
US should admit wrongdoing in Iraq
By Linda S. Heard
Anyone who has been
following the shameful Iraq saga since the 2003 invasion knows that US forces
sometimes crossed modern-day warfare’s red lines. There has been a wealth of
anecdotal evidence to support claims against the invaders of abuse, torture and
a lack of concern for civilian deaths; allegations that have mostly remained
unproven.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:12
The Lighter Side
Ginni and Clarence at home
By Missy Beattie
In a suburban home’s family room, Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas is watching a DVD. Hearing the garage door grind open,
he jumps up, ejects a Long Dong Silver cassette, quickly places it in a case,
titled “Recount,” and shoves it behind the Bible in the built-in bookcase.
Ginni Thomas enters through the kitchen and walks into the family room seconds
after Thomas has zipped his fly.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:10
NewsLinks
Links to other sources of news and commentary
Arundhati Roy
threatened with arrest for sedition • Rand Paul supporter stomps head of female
MoveOn member outside KY debate • US troops beheaded
Iraqi detainee • Israeli study urges taking Arab plan • High-tech answer to
harassment on Egypt's streets • Talk of 33% quota, but only 8% women in Bihar
poll fray • Reinsurance putting
Floridians at risk • More . . .
Oct 27, 2010, 00:08
Online Journal Stores
:
Amazon.com
Your purchases from our aStore help support Online Journal
Check out our latest recommendations..Thirty-five categories to choose from, plus gift
certificates. Great for holiday gifts!
Oct 27, 2010, 00:06
Online Journal Stores
:
Official Merchandise
Shirts, mugs and more
Check our line of
new Online Journal logo merchandise. Make a statement with affordable
gear from our Online Journal Shop.
Oct 27, 2010, 00:04
Analysis
The United States military budget -- the threat to China
By Nicolas J S Davies
Last January, Carl Conetta of the Commonwealth
Institute’s Project for Defense Alternatives wrote a paper titled “An Undisciplined
Defense: Understanding the $2 Trillion Surge in US Defense Spending.”
Conetta looked at the doubling of U.S. military spending since 1998, and
concluded that only about half of the increase was linked to the American wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq or to terrorism. Remarkably, this left over $1 trillion
of extra U.S. military spending over the past 12 years unaccounted for -- not
justified by any policy or strategy that U.S. political leaders have explained
to the American public or to the rest of the world.
Oct 26, 2010, 00:23
Analysis
Rebuilding local economies: A shift in priorities
By Anna White
From the burgeoning popularity of farmers’
markets and co-operatives to the revitalisation of community banking, people
are organising to reclaim the economy from large profit-driven corporations and
‘too big to fail’ financial institutions. The small-scale and diversity of
these local initiatives masks the immense potential they hold for addressing
fundamental flaws in the current model of economic development. Rather than
treat the swing towards the local as a fad or misplaced radicalism, the policy
community should work to support this alternative vision for sustainable,
human-scale development.
Oct 26, 2010, 00:21
Elections & Voting
If Republicans win
By Mary Shaw
I hear from a lot of disillusioned Democrats who
are disappointed in the Obama administration and Congress. Their disappointment
is understandable. Two years ago, we were seduced by the promise of positive,
progressive change. Obama was going to change Washington. Instead, the games in
Washington became even more contentious and divisive. And Obama has seemed to
lack the strength to effectively stand up to the “Party of No.”
Oct 26, 2010, 00:19
Elections & Voting
Let's get real about the November election
By Bernard Weiner
I'm finding it difficult to believe that the
following reminders are even needed but, given the volatile electoral situation
we're facing in November, better to err on the side of common-sense.
Oct 26, 2010, 00:15
Elections & Voting
James Bopp: The man behind our secret elections
WASHINGTON, October 25 -- A little-known Indiana
lawyer with a fiercely partisan agenda and a long record of radical
conservative activism has engineered the flow of tens of millions of dollars in
corporate and trade association money -- most of it from secret donors -- into
this year’s mid-term elections, drowning out the voices of ordinary Americans.
Oct 26, 2010, 00:13
Satire
Supreme chutzpah
By Robert Klein
Citing the US Supreme Court’s eight-month-old
decision allowing companies unlimited donations to political candidates and
campaigns, the Holland Tunnel, still under water between New York and New
Jersey, today announced its long-anticipated decision to take advantage of the
precedent-setting opinion conferring personhood status on an inanimate object. Thanks
to the Roberts’ Court’s 5-4 extension of free speech rights, every LLC and Inc.
in the country, especially those with headquarters in Delaware, is now a
natural citizen.
Oct 26, 2010, 00:11
Commentary
Algorithms and red wine: Is the “digital hive” a soft totalitarian state?
By Joe Bageant
FERRARA, Italy -- Sitting
in a bottliberia, one of those wine bars that brings out food to match your
particular choice of wine, mystified by the table setting. What was that tiny
baby spoon for? Cappuccino surely, at some point, but why no big spoon to go
with the knife and fork? The things a redneck American does not know grow exponentially
in Bella Italia, starting with the restaurants -- not to mention several
civilizations beneath one’s feet. Being in a house that has been continuously
occupied for over 1,000 years -- resisting the temptation to piss in the hotel
room bidet, that sort of thing.
Oct 25, 2010, 00:18
News Media
Fox News: The spin stops and the lying, distortions, and insults begin
By Richard Backus
Fox News has created the finest propaganda
machine since the glorious days of that favorite Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
And did it in the time-honored Republican way, using big bucks provided by the
crowd whose sole interests they will pursue: the idle and greedy rich.
Oct 25, 2010, 00:16
Elections & Voting
Trading in the politics of hope
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
Unbelievably, it’s been two years since we
elected a president who ran on a platform of hope. After a decade of rule by
cowboys and neighborhood bullies, and listening to the same old song about good
guys and bad guys, it felt good to change the tape to play “yes we can” -- a
refrain heard even in Spanish, “Si se puede,” “si se puede.”
Oct 25, 2010, 00:14
Elections & Voting
Suppose your actions swung the election
By Paul Rogat Loeb
Imagine if your actions made the difference in
electing a Senator, governor, or congressional representative? Suppose the
phone calls you made, money you donated, doors you knocked on, and
conversations you initiated helped swing a critically close race, or two or
three. Suppose the friends you dragged to the polls helped America reject the
anonymous corporate dollars that threaten to drown our democracy?
Oct 25, 2010, 00:10
Commentary
From ROT to Wall Street: Owning the shares of shame
By Missy Beattie
In the days following 9/11, the world was told
the “official” story. People “jealous of our freedoms” wanted to destroy our
way of life.
Oct 25, 2010, 00:08
|
