Month: November 2004

A cost-conscious U.S. Congress has denied funding to Bush administration projects to develop new nuclear weapons designed to target rogue states or terrorists developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Critics who said the new "bunker buster" weapons risked blurring the lines between conventional and unconventional warfare hailed the move, which was led by a member … Continue reading “Congress Rejects New Nukes”

Between now and January, the Bush administration will have to decide whether or not to take the last dignified exit from Iraq. That is, to announce before the Iraqi elections that we will be leaving soon after them. If Bush and his neocon handlers miss this opportunity, our only choice will be to remain in … Continue reading “Last Exit Before Gas”

UNITED NATIONS – The 191-member UN General Assembly, the largely ignored policymaking body of the United Nations, is threatening to derail a slew of mostly Western European and U.S.-inspired resolutions condemning human rights violations. A key committee of the assembly, which previously refused to take action on resolutions against Belarus and Sudan, took a similar … Continue reading “UN Body Rejects Censure, Threatens Revolt”

The neoconservative hawks in the Bush administration demand regime change in Iran. The nation’s supposed ties to Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist groups coupled with its attempts to build a nuclear weapon motivate such prescriptions. Of course, the (sometimes) unspoken reason has something to do with Iran’s threat to Israel. No matter the justifications, Roger Howard’s … Continue reading “A Thoughtful Look at Iran”

It’s well known that Washington was originally built on a pestilential swamp. Right now, the Bush administration is in the process of draining its own “swamp” of potential critics and doubters of any sort and installing “family” members, many from George’s (and Karl’s) old Texas days, others “adoptees” like Condoleezza Rice, ever more firmly in … Continue reading “A Worthless Intelligence Agency”

I just checked my campus mail and found a letter in it from Colonel Yigal Carmon, late of Israeli military intelligence, now an official at the Middle East Media Research Organization, or MEMRI. He threatened me with a lawsuit over blog comments I made at Informed Comment. This technique of the SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuit … Continue reading “Repressive MEMRI”

I just checked my campus mail and found a letter in it from Colonel Yigal Carmon, late of Israeli military intelligence, now an official at the Middle East Media Research Organization, or MEMRI. He threatened me with a lawsuit over blog comments I made at Informed Comment. This technique of the SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuit … Continue reading “Repressive MEMRI”

In the Ukraine, tens of thousands of protesters march through the streets demanding that pro-Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich give up the reins of power: he stole the election, they claim. The whole thing was "rigged." How do they know this? Well, you see, the exit polls – conducted by Western organizations … Continue reading “‘Democracy’ and Mendacity”

Rich nations’ decision to accept a U.S. request and forgive part of Iraq’s debt will help the occupied country but also saddle it with a burdensome economic program that threatens to take decision-making power from Iraqis and put it in the hands of officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), say critics. The Paris Club … Continue reading “Iraq Debt Relief Weighed Down by IMF Burden”

Four years of an Israeli military crackdown on a popular Palestinian uprising, based on closures of towns and villages, have left the economy of the occupied territories in tatters and its people facing soaring poverty, the World Bank said Tuesday. Israeli army sieges of Palestinian towns and villages have severely smothered economic activity and restricted … Continue reading “Israeli Closures Crush Palestinian Economy”