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Archives: June 2008

Iacocca: Where the Hell is our Outrage?

McClatchy says that lack of funds is hobbling the Republican attack machine. It could be that the country is in such a mess that even rich cranky white people are not sure…

Paul: Iran and Energy Crisis

Sunday afternoon viewing: Ron Paul on Iran and the energy crisis. He argues that speculation about a US or Israeli strike on Iran is driving some of the increase in oil prices.The…

Addington: They’ll be Watching Me

David Addington, Cheney's legal capo, can't say whether he authorized waterboarding because he is afraid that al-Qaeda might be watching C-Span. Al-Qaeda is this crew's excuse for everything that they always wanted…

McCain Adviser Plans Casino on the Tigris

Update: This appears to be a hoax. See comments below.Hat tip to Raed Jarrar and to Rick B at Ten Percent.A 'foreign policy adviser' to the McCain campaign was interviewed last February…

Hansen: Try CEOs of Big Oil for Fraud

NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen called for the CEOs of the oil majors to be put on trial for obstructing efforts to stop global warming and for misinforming the public about the…

McCain Aide Wishes on a Star

You always suspected that they thought it. But who would be so stupid as to say it. On McCain's "political maestro" Mr. Charlie Black and how he thinks thousands of Americans being…

Saudis Driven into Poverty by High Oil Prices

Aljazeera International explains how high oil prices are hurting ordinary Saudis, driving up the cost of their food and imports. The petroleum is owned by the government and profits go to it.…

The Real State of Iraq

American television loves natural disasters. The Burmese cyclones that may have carried off as many as 200,000 people offered the cameras high drama. The floods in Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri along the…

Doggett Introduces Climate Bill

Climate MATTERS Cap-and-Trade Legislation IntroducedWashington, DC – U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), announced today that he is introducing the Climate MATTERS Act (Climate Market Auction Trust and Trade Emissions Reduction System) to…

The Great Torture Scandal

McClatchy and other reporters are abruptly pulling the curtain away from the Bush team's illegal practices in arresting people arbitrarily, declining to offer proof that they were guilty of anything, detaining them…

Troops Move in To Amara; Awakening Mounts Party;

Iraqi government troops began fanning through Amara and other towns of Maysan Province in the Shiite South on Thursday morning. Shiite militiamen, having been given three days to put away their heavier…

John McCain’s Oil Scam

McCain is arguing for offshore drilling to lower US petroleum prices in the "short term."It is all a big lie, and a dangerous one at that. Our marine environment and our fisheries…

McClatchy Guantanamo Guards Abused Known Innocents

John McCain's attack on the Supreme Court for upholding the right of Habeas Corpus even for Guantanamo detainees was self-serving and hypocritical. But it was also ethically wrong, because the Guantanamo system…

Sadr Movement Will Back Independents;

Salah al-Ubaidi, a spokesman for the Sadr Movement, says that it will not boycott the fall provincial elections, exactly. The Movement will not run candidates under its own name, but will rather…

Karzai Theatens Pursuit into Pakistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday threatened to send Afghan troops on hot pursuit of Taliban readicals right into Pakistani territory. That threat doesn't strike me as a good development for the…

Secret UK Dossier "Damning" of Iraqi Army

The narrative of the American Right about Iraq is that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is finally in control, that the Iraqi armed forces are performing well, and that in short things are…

Engelhardt: The World According to Tomdispatch

The following excerpt is mirrored from Tomdispatch.com in celebration of the publication of Engelhardt's latest edited book, The World According to TomDispatch: America in the New Age of Empire.The book contains my…

Moyers, O’Reilly and Fox Gotcha "Journalism"

Fox Producer Porter Barry ambushes Bill Moyers at National Conference for Media Reform 2008, insisting that the NCMR is a partisan organization (it is not) and harassing him with silly questions about…

Napoleon’s Egypt in Paperback

Some readers asked me to let them know when my recent book, Napoleon's Egypt, was out in paperback. Well it is out and can be ordered at Amazon.com as well as being…

Moyers on the Crisis of US Media

Bill Moyers addresses the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008:via Freepress.netSee also 2012: the End of the Internet:

Iran Alleges US Bribing Iraq MPs on SOFA

The USG Open Source Center translates an Iranian radio broadcast that alleges the US is trying to bribe members of the Iraqi parliament to pass the proposed security agreement with the US,…

The First Web 2.0 President?

The NYT leads this morning with "Obama Claims Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket." You can see from my headline that I put a different emphasis. I'm not…

Aljazeera: Iraqi Reactions to Security Agreement

The USG Open Source Center translates an Aljazeera segment on the proposed security agreement with the US. Via BBC Monitoring'June 1, 2008 SundayAL-JAZEERA TV DEBATES IRAQI REACTIONS TO PROPOSED SECURITY DEAL WITH…

Obama, the Dukakis Trap, and Meeting Sistani

Barack Obama is considering a trip to Iraq this summer. I fear he has been forced into this visit by John McCain, who keeps taunting him on his limited foreign policy experience,…

Cobban: Re-engage

Helena Cobban, proprietor of the JustWorldNews web site, has been covering global issues as a professional journalist for 35 years, most recently for the Christian Science Monitor. She writes:'Five years into the…