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Archives: February 2012
Israel – Iran Military Comparison
With all the hooplah about a possible Israeli attack on Iran (which I view as rather unlikely), it is worthwhile revisiting the issue of how weak and how much of a nothing…
Romney’s “Across the Board” Tax Cuts benefit the Super-Rich
In his acceptance speech for his primary victories in Arizona and Michigan, Mitt Romney repeated his pledges to cut taxes 20 percent "across the board" and to balance the Federal budget at…Tomgram: Engelhardt and Turse, The End in Afghanistan?
Tom Engelhardt and Nick Turse write at Tomdispatch.com" "Tomgram: Engelhardt and Turse, The End in Afghanistan? Posted by Tom Engelhardt and Nick Turse at 8:21am, February 28, 2012. Blown Away How the…Omar Khayyam (46)
Khayyam, why do you beat yourself up over your lapses? What's the profit or loss in regret? Whoever hasn't sinned can't be forgiven. Forgiveness came for sinning-- why drown in remorse? Translated…
Top Ten Differences Between Rick Santorum and JFK
Rick Santorum said Monday that when he first heard John F. Kennedy's speech on religion and politics, it made him want to puke. Santorum misrepresented what Kennedy said, of course. Kennedy welcomed…Fresh evidence of CIA civilian deaths in Pakistan revealed: Jones
Chris Jones writes for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Two major investigations have provided fresh evidence that civilians are continuing to be killed in Pakistan’s tribal areas by CIA drones – despite…Omar Khayyam (4)
Man of the cloth, do me a favor. Take a deep beath and do God's work for us. We're on the straight path, but you see crookedly. Go heal your eyes and…Qur’an-burning Protests Spread, Santorum calls Obama Weak for Apologizing
The protests in Afghanistan over the burning of old copies of the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, by the US military at Bagram Base in Afghanistan, continued this weekend, with new violence.…
At Oscars, Director of “A Separation” Slams War Talk
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose film "A Separation," won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year, had this to say in his acceptance speech: "At this time, many Iranians all over…Omar Khayyam (45)
Since things are not going to work out the way we want, where will it get us to dwell on our struggles?-- Except to sit around moping that we got here late…
The Difference between Romney and Obama (Picture)
In the build-up to the Super Tuesday primaries, in 2012 and 2008, candidates Romney and Obama, respectively, addressed crowds in stadiums. Here is the difference. Originally from Thinkprogress, Originally submitted by Marika…
Five Things Rick Santorum Could have Learned in College
Rick Santorum attacked President Obama on Saturday for being "a snob" because, Santorum said, the president wanted all Americans to have a college education (Obama hasn't actually said such a thing). Then…Omar Khayyam (43)
Fear of mortality and notions of nothingness are your own kind of drunkeness. Otherwise you'd see that from the branch of death twigs of immortality grow. Ever since Jesus breathed life into my…Hamas Breaks with Syrian Regime
The Muslim Fundamentalist Palestinian party-militia Hamas, based largely in the Gaza Strip has abruptly broken with its long-time patron, Syria. The leadership has scattered from its offices in Syria to elsewhere in…
Afro-Asia, Global South Reject Boycott of Iran
Despite American assertions that Iran is "internationally isolated," it turns out that the boycott of that country is a solidly Northern Hemisphere phenomenon and only partially successful even there. The US-led sanctions…
Republicans silent as Netanyahu disses Gen. Dempsey
Courtesy Paul Jamiol For background see this posting and Ian Master's recent interview with me on this issueOmar Khayyam (19)
19 The day when I down shots one after one and with total delight become falling down drunk, I'll work a hundred miracles on every front and from that fiery personality my…Gingrich Endangers US troops by Slamming Obama for Apology over Qur’an Burning
Newt Gingrich continued to put his entire lack of logic on display on Thursday, when he criticized President Obama for apologizing for the desecration of the Qur'an at Bagram Base. Gingrich said…
Syria: The Horror of Homs, a City at War
Some 70 percent of the district of Baba Amr in Homs has been destroyed by artillery fire. Channel 4 in the UK rebroadcast video footage of the carnage at HomsAfghan Parliamentarians call for Jihad Against US
The USG Open Source Center paraphrases Arab satellite television reports on the protests in Afghanistan of the incineration of Qur'ans by the US military. FYI -- Al-Jazirah, Al-Arabiyah Coverage of Koran Burning…Tomgram: Engelhardt, The Arrival of the Warrior Corporation
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch Remotely Piloted War How Drone War Became The American Way of Life By Tom Engelhardt In the American mind, if Apple made weapons, they would undoubtedly be…
Iran the Beautiful
Most Americans never see Iran on television, don't know an Iranian, and speak of "striking Iran" entirely in the abstract. No one talks about the release of radioactivity and toxins on Iran…Omar Khayyam (41)
When I am sober, I don't feel lighthearted; but when I'm drunk my reason is defective. There is a state between being tipsy and clearheaded. I'm a slave to that state because…Logical Errors and Propaganda in Republican Debate on the Middle East
The candidates to be the Republican standard bearer in this year's presidential campaign addressed Iran and Syria in the course of their debate. Except for Ron Paul, they resorted to propaganda and…Arizona Republican Debate: The Middle East
Transcript of the Middle East-related portions of the Republican debate in Arizona hosted by John King of CNN: "QUESTION: Hi, my name is Ken Taylor (ph) from Wickenberg, Arizona and my question…Omar Khayyam (39)
If a stranger proves faithful, I adopt him into the family. But if a relative sins, I take a dim view of him. If poison proves helpful, it is actually an antidote,…How the FCC can take the Money out of Politics- Cole at Truthdig
My column is out at truthdig "How the FCC can take the Money out of Politics" Excerpt: "Big money has always been a problem in American politics, but now humongous money threatens…71% of Americans think Iran already has the Bomb (Also we used to have pet triceratops)
A CNN/ Gallup poll shows that nearly three quarters of Americans believe that Iran already has a nuclear weapon. (About 80% believe that it either has one or will get one in…Save Homs with Humanitarian Airdrops by Drones
The Baath regime in Syria killed another 60 persons on Tuesday. About 30 were killed by troops in restive Idlib province. The Syrian military also continued to pound Homs on Tuesday, using…Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit, Why the Media Loves the Violence of Protesters and Not of Banks
Rebecca Solnit writes at Tomdispatch: Mad, Passionate Love -- and Violence Occupy Heads into the Spring By Rebecca Solnit When you fall in love, it’s all about what you have in common,…Omar Khayyam (36)
I can't reveal the mystery to either saint or sinner; I can't state at length what I've said curtly; I achieve an altered state that I can't explain; I have a secret…Israeli PM Netanyahu attacks Gen. Dempsey as Servant of Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have launched a vicious attack on US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, an American war hero, saying…Santorum’s Clarifier: Rick Condemned Obama’s Radical Islamic Theology
Santorum surrogate's slip of the tongue Santorum sent his spokesperson Alice Stewart out to explain that when he condemned President Obama's "theology" for "not being based on the Bible," what he actually…Washington’s Farewell Address and the Middle East
What would happen if we substituted "the Middle East" for "Europe" in George Washington's Farewell address? Emphasis and words in brackets added. "Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace…Omar Khayyam (34)
Pagan temples and mosques are all houses of worship. Ringing church bells are hymns of worship. The sacred thread of the Parsee, the synagogue, the rosary and the crucifix-- in reality, all…Top Ten Ways Iran is Defying US, EU Oil Sanctions and How You are Paying for It All
It wasn't supposed to be like this, the Neocons assured us. Iran would soon be on its knees because of ever more stringent US sanctions on Iran. But Iran just cheekily sent…
US Interventions in the World since WW II
US military and CIA interventions in the world since World War II.Tomgram: Andrew Bacevich, Uncle Sam, Global Gangster
Andrew Bacevich writes at Tomdispatch.com Scoring the Global War on Terror From Liberation to Assassination in Three Quick Rounds By Andrew Bacevich With the United States now well into the second decade…Omar Khayyam (33)
Night and day preceded you and me. The vault of the sky revolved upon some work. Be careful to tread lightly on the earth-- you're walking on people who used to be…Ayatollah Santorum Excommunicates Obama, Mainstream Protestants
Rick Santorum attacked President Obama on Saturday for his theology. Although people assumed that Santorum was, like other conservatives, hinting around that Obama is not a Christian but rather a secret Muslim,…
History Lesson on US-Iran Relations
A history lesson on American relations with Iran:
Ring of Iranian Bases Threatens US
I had grabbed an earlier version of this graphic off a Democratic Underground bulletin board from 2005. It made the point that the United States, which professes itself menaced by Iran, rather…Omar Khayyam (31)
Don't try every door because of some bauble; you just have to accept the good and bad of your time; a shake of the cup and a toss of the dice-- whatever…
General Assembly Condemns Syria as Regime Bombards Homs Again
The world condemned the Syria regime's brutal crackdown on its own people at the UN General Assembly on Thursday. What would be the response of the ruling Baath Party? We didn't have…Tomgram: Ari Berman, The Politics of the Super Rich
Ari Berman writes at Tomdispatch.com The .0000063% Election How the Politics of the Super Rich Became American Politics By Ari Berman At a time when it’s become a cliché to say that…Omar Khayyam (5)
Get up and come here for the sake of my heart, and lend your beauty to solving my problem. Bring an earthenware cup full of wine for us to drink, --quick before…Santorum Hypes Iran ‘Threat’
GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum warned North Dakota on Wednesday that it was in the cross-hairs of an Iranian attack. Among the news about Iran that had Americans thinking about that country…Ahmadinejad Speech on Nuclear Energy Advances (Full Text)
The USG Open Source Center translates the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the inauguration of three civilian nuclear projects Iran: Ahmadinezhad Inaugurates Nuclear Projects Speech by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad…Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, Imperial Hegemony and Its Discontents
Noam Chomsky writes at Tomdispatch.com The Imperial Way American Decline in Perspective, Part 2 By Noam Chomsky In the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, “losses” continued to mount elsewhere. In…
Active Nuclear Arsenals and Iran’s Absence
These are some of the countries that say they are afraid of Iran. Between them they have thousands of deadly atomic weapons. But note that Iran has no nuclear weapon, no nuclear…Omar Khayyam (30)
Your hand can seize today, but not tomorrow; and thoughts of your tomorrow are nothing but desire. Don't waste this breath, if your heart isn't crazy, since 'the rest of your life'…Syrian Assault on Homs Heats up as Obama Scolds Chinese
Syrian forces renewed their heavy bombardment of the Baba Amru district of Homs on Tuesday morning, in the fiercest attack in days. The attack is producing a humanitarian crisis, with food shops…Greek Lessons for the Arab Spring: Majid
Anouar Majid writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Greek Lessons for the Arab Spring As the Arab Spring enters its second year and the whiff of democratic possibilities hovers in…Omar Khayyam (79)
79 Mix together wine, song and heavenly lover if you can, and sit on the bank of a purling stream. Don't look for anything better, don't speak of a forgotten hell; for,…Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, Hegemony and Its Dilemmas
Noam Chomsky writes at Tomdispatch.com American Decline in Perspective, Part 1 By Noam Chomsky Significant anniversaries are solemnly commemorated -- Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, for example. …Omar Khayyam (29)
My heart, your fate is so bloody-- and every second your condition must change again. My soul, what business do you have in this body of mine?-- Since, when your business is…Indian Investigators do not Suspect Iran in Israel Embassy Blast
India has suffered from both Hindu and Muslim terrorist groups. So the attack on an automobile outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi could easily have been carried out by an Indian…Sternfeld: Will Iran’s Elections Provoke a New Green Movement?
Lior Sternfeld writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Two important realities about Iran are obscured behind the smokescreen of the “Iranian threat” which US politicians and even the US government…Omar Khayyam (28)
Since today is the time of my youth, I drink what makes me happy. Don't speak badly of it-- although it is bitter, it is good. It's bitter because it is my…Tomgram: Nick Turse, Prisons, Drones, and Black Ops in Afghanistan
Nick Turse writes at Tomdispatch.com 450 Bases and It’s Not Over Yet: The Pentagon’s Afghan Basing Plans for Prisons, Drones, and Black Ops By Nick Turse In late December, the lot was…Arab World Mourns Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston's tragic death on Saturday was a global event, because of the enormous popularity of American popular culture. Houston's music was played worldwide, not just inside the US. In the Arab…Omar Khayyam (27)
That priceless ruby is from a different mine, and that unique pearl is from a different shop. Thinking about this and that is just your imagination, and mine; the story of passionate…Top Ten Catholic Teachings Santorum Rejects while Obsessing about Birth Control
The right wing Republican politicians who have been denouncing the requirement that female employees have access to birth control as part of their health benefits as an attack on religious freedom completely…Omar Khayyam (24)
From the house of unbelief to true religion is a single breath; From the world of doubt to certainty is a single breath; Enjoy this precious single breath, for the harvest of…Iraq Comes to Syria
Update Brig. Gen. Issa al-Kholi who headed a military hospital, was assassinated Saturday outside his Damascus home. He is the first high-ranking officer to be killed. Because he was a physician rather…Omar Khayyam (23)
Fish said to duck, frantic, Will the water ever return if the river jumps its course? Duck replied, When you and I are skewered and kebob, let it be a river or…The Dilemma over Syria
Syria's military continued its brutal assault on neighborhoods of Homs, a center of civil disobedience against the regime, on Thursday, killing over 100 persons, including children. This deployment of military force against…Omar Khayyam (12)
Although we partiers may have good color and smell pleasant, with cheeks like rubies; and though we're tall as a cypress-- it's just not clear, in this earthly cabaret, why I was…Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, In Washington, Fear the Silence, Not the Noise
Peter van Buren writes at Tomdispatch.com Silent State The Campaign Against Whistleblowers in Washington By Peter Van Buren On January 23rd, the Obama administration charged former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the…World’s 1.6 Billion Poor Going Green
Renewable energy is often thought of as an initiative of advanced, sane countries such as Portugal and Germany. But there is another arena where green energy is making an impact-- on the…Omar Khayyam (8)
A lover all his life is frantic and intoxicated-- crazy, distracted and disgraced. When we're sober, everything annoys us; but when we're drunk, whatever will be, will be trans. Juan Cole from…
Syria: Crimes Against Humanity in Homs
The Telegraph (UK) has put the word "genocide" in its headline as a description of what has been going on in Syria. On Wednesday morning, more persons were killed in Homs, as…Chinese Envoy: Veto aimed at Protecting Syria from Civil War
The USG Open Source Center translates from the Chinese an article that includes an explanation of China's veto of a new UN Security Council resolution on Syria. Special envoy on Middle Eastern…Tomgram: Bill McKibben, Why the Energy-Industrial Elite Has It In for the Planet
Bill McKibben writes at Tomdispatch.com: The Great Carbon Bubble Why the Fossil Fuel Industry Fights So Hard By Bill McKibben If we could see the world with a particularly illuminating set of…Omar Khayyam 16
Before time ever was, You fashioned the divine handiwork of heaven and hell-- out of compassion and rage. Your banquet is in heaven, and I am empty-handed, since I have no path…
Hoekstra Blames Everyone but Himself for the Deficits He Voted for
It is hard to decide what is the most despicable thing about senatorial Republican hopeful Pete Hoekstra's Superbowl ad attacking rival Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow. The ad has a Chinese young woman…Tomgram: Engelhardt, Kicking Down the World’s Door
Tom Englehardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: Offshore Everywhere How Drones, Special Operations Forces, and the U.S. Navy Plan to End National Sovereignty As We Know It By Tom Engelhardt Make no mistake: we’re…How an Israeli Strike on Iran could radically weaken Israel
Some colleagues on an email list got me thinking about the worst case scenario of an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, so here is what I came up with.…Cole Spanish interviews on Arab Spring in Costa Rica Press
My Spanish-speaking readers will enjoy these links to interviews about the Arab Spring I did last week in San Jose, Costa Rica, with the press there. My thanks to the Center for…Omar Khayyam 14
The idol asked the pagan, "Do you know why you started bowing down to me?" --"It was because the One who looks out through your eyes shone his light on me!" trans.…Syria Veto and the Revenge of the BRICS
Russia and China jointly cast a veto Saturday in the United Nations Security Council against an Arab League-backed resolution that would have called for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to step down.…Lyons: Islam, Women and the West
Jonathan Lyons writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Islam, Women, and the West This essay is adapted from my latest book, Islam Through Western Eyes: From the Crusades to…
NASA’s Dangerous new Blue Marble
NASA's new composite "Blue Marble" high definition image of the planet earth from outer space: Quick, a test: Was your first reaction, "What a beautiful planet we have!" ? Or was it,…
Greenwald: Koch Brothers Should Testify before Congress
The Wall Street Journal carried a plaintive piece about how the poor far right wing oil billionaires David and Charles Koch (who bring you everything from science denial, to the Keystone XL…Omar Khayyam 13
Where's the smoke from my fire around here? Where's the profit on my investment around here? As for the guy who called me a bar fly, now really, where's the bar around…Egypt Soccer Protests Challenge Military Regime
Friday saw another day of big protests and police repression in Egypt's major cities. The protesters, who want the military to withdraw from politics and go back to the barracks, were galvanized…Omar Khayyam 18
If you are looking for love, try to attract every heart. On the path of the Presence, try to entice every seeker. A hundred holy shrines made of water and clay are…The Generals try to stop an Iran War
It has leaked that US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. Martin Dempsey warned the Israelis that if they launched a strike on Iran that spiralled into a war, they…
KAYAOĞLU: Turkey’s Crackdown on the Press recalls Military’s Tactics
Barin Kayaoğlu writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: AKP and “Back to the Future” Turkish-Style BARIN KAYAOĞLU [For the Turkish version of this post, click here.] The NGO Reporters Without…Romney: “I’m not concerned about the very poor.”
Quarter-billionaire Mitt Romney to Soledad O'Brien on CNN: "Romney says, "I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair , I'll fix it.…
Chart: Euro-American boycott of Iranian Petroleum would Fail
Courtesy Courtesy crudeoilpeak.info Europe doesn't loom that large already. And, Asia and other global South areas would take up the slack.