Antiwar.com

Sixty South Korean activists will face criminal after they attacked police as part of a thousand-strong protest against a government plan to expand a U.S. military base in Pyongtaek, about an hour’s drive south of Seoul. According to press reports, clashes came after Army engineers on Thursday cordoned off two townships about 70 km south … Continue reading “Korean Farmers Clash With the Empire”

Either most members of the media elite have a reading comprehension problem – which would necessarily result in low scores for them on standard IQ tests – or they deliberately misrepresent to you what they have read. Now, that’s not too serious when you can determine for yourself whether they are dolts or liars. But … Continue reading “Dolts or Liars”

The burning issue in Washington today is high gas prices, and it won’t go away anytime soon. Americans are not happy about paying $3 per gallon at the pump, and they want something done about it. But price controls won’t work, and allegations of price gouging and "windfall profits" amount to nothing more than congressional … Continue reading “Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy, and Gas Prices”

"Hold ’em, Yale" is one of the best short stories of Guys and Dolls creator Damon Runyon, who depicted the New York City underworld in the 1920s. The story deals with an undercover operation to scalp ducats before the annual Yale-Harvard football game. It begins: "What I am doing in New Haven on the day … Continue reading “My Meeting With Rumsfeld”

All the wheels and pulleys of a very familiar narrative are swinging into motion, creaking and grating against gears, as the usual suspects grind out their war propaganda. Every day, it seems, there is some newly discovered quotation from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in which he seems to be auditioning for the part of Hitler’s … Continue reading “The Next World War”

Sunday’s Independent carries a piece speculating on whether former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw lost his job, in part, because the Bush regime disliked his lack of crusading fervor. Francis Elliott writes: "Jack Straw’s fate was sealed in a phone call from the White House to Tony Blair last month, according to the former foreign … Continue reading “Straw Canned Over Iran?”

To George Clooney and the other Americans who demonstrated and demanded that the U.S. intervene in the Darfur region of Sudan, I have a simple and clear message: Buy yourself a gun and plenty of ammunition, and go intervene yourself. In the 1930s, a tougher breed of Americans didn’t just demonstrate. They formed the Abraham … Continue reading “Want to Intervene in Darfur? Go Ahead”

Comrade Cheney vs. President PutinBeing a modest student of geopolitics and the history of the great game, I have never doubted that the primary reason, the final target of America’s involvement in the Middle East is the breakup of Russia. Sure, there are other reasons as well, each playing a part, but if one would … Continue reading “Backtalk, May 8, 2006”

As if rallying fading public support for keeping more than 100,000 U.S. troops in a disintegrating Iraq and preparing the ground for a possible military attack on Iran were not enough, some influential hawks are now promoting a more confrontational stance against Russia and China, as well. Their eagerness to take on new and bigger … Continue reading “Hawks Looking for New and Bigger Enemies?”

Pursuant to a Safeguards Agreement [.pdf] concluded in 1974 with the International Atomic Energy Agency – as required by the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – Iran has been allowing IAEA inspectors to verify that no “source or special nuclear materials” are being used in furtherance of a nuclear weapons program. Then, in 2003, … Continue reading “Building Confidence”