Month: August 2005

As I watched the extensive, plainly sympathetic coverage of Jewish settlers being evicted from their Gaza homes, I couldn’t help but take note once again of the striking double standard applied by American news media as well as the U.S. government. I cannot recall any sympathetic coverage of Palestinians being evicted from their homes. No … Continue reading “Gaza Evacuation Should Be Americans’ Last Straw”

The day after Wednesday night’s nationwide vigils, the big headline at the top of the MoveOn.org home page said: "Support Cindy Sheehan." But MoveOn does not support Cindy Sheehan’s call for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Many groups were important to the success of the Aug. 17 vigils, but the online powerhouse MoveOn … Continue reading “MoveOn’s Soft Stance on Iraq”

Has the U.S. public lost so much confidence in the George W. Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war that its current strategy – to the extent one actually exists – is unsustainable? With President Bush himself besieged by antiwar protesters on his seemingly endless and ill-timed vacation at his Texas ranch, that appears to … Continue reading “Has the ‘Tipping Point’ on Iraq Been Reached?”

It’s amusing to watch the utter powerlessness of the neocon attack machine as they try – without success – to smear Cindy Sheehan. Matt Drudge is heaving spittle at his computer screen, and Karl Rove must be having nightmares about this courageous albeit heartbroken housewife from Vacaville as she faces down his attack dogs and … Continue reading “Antiwar Populism:
The Floodgates Open”

Personal Thanks Friday night I had a visit. I came home and saw a man running to the back door. With, as I later realized, my laptop, my watch, and some cash. I called a friend, but she had little time for me: her sister in Ramat Gan had just enjoyed a similar visit; they … Continue reading “Stop Your Sobbing”

Veterans for Peace (VFP), founded in Maine in 1985, marked its 20th anniversary in early August at the group’s annual convention in Dallas, Texas. With over 100 chapters nationwide, and thousands of dues-paying members who’ve served in war and peace from WWII through the current conflict, VFP has grown into an essential component of the … Continue reading “Mothers and Veterans Reach Out to Middle America”

Since President Bush won’t meet with Cindy Sheehan to explain why her son Casey died in Iraq, I thought I would put forward the information I have. Like Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, I was in Baghdad’s Sadr City on April 4, 2004. I was there as an unembedded journalist. Unlike Casey Sheehan, I wasn’t killed. … Continue reading “Why Casey Sheehan Was Killed”

When he flew off to San Clemente, Calif., in the summer of 1969 for his August vacation, Richard Nixon was riding a wave of popularity. He had announced the first troop withdrawal from Vietnam. He had met the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on touchdown in the Pacific. He … Continue reading “The Silent Majority, Then and Now”

The beginning of the pullout of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip presents two contrasting pictures of two very differently placed people. While the Israelis are looking at comfortable compensation packages, thousands of Palestinians face the threat of starvation as a result of the Israeli pullout. The average compensation packet for an Israeli settler home … Continue reading “Two Sides to a Withdrawal”

LONDON – Just about the last defense of the police who killed Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes in London July 21 was that they had seen him running. New evidence suggests he was not running, but sitting on the train when he was grabbed and shot. The new evidence blows the last lie produced … Continue reading “London: Last Police Lie Blown Off”