Month: July 2007

Members of the Cheney Cabal – in and outside government – and their media sycophants are charging that then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage played the initial and key role in the exposure of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame and of her "cover," Brewster-Jennings & Associates. And even though that charge is evidently false, they … Continue reading “Armitage: Cheney Cabal Scapegoat”

Old Fan prides himself on his chicken-choosing abilities. He is comfortable declaring the superiority of his chicken dishes above all others, due in large part to the fine chickens he manages to wriggle out of the hawkers’ hands. But now the hawkers have upped the ante: Old Fan’s most recent chicken-procuring mission ended in disaster … Continue reading “China’s Crises Will Pass, With Help”

Updated at 12:55 a.m. EDT, July 7, 2007At least 73 Iraqis were killed and 113 were injured in the latest incidents. Clashes between security forces and the Mahdi army continue in Samawa, but otherwise it has been a relatively quiet day. Also, seven GIs were killed and six were wounded.Today, two MND-B soldiers were killed … Continue reading “Friday: 7 GIs, 73 Iraqis Killed; 113 Iraqis Wounded”

Why did Bush do it? Why did he suddenly barge into the legal process and erase the entire 30-month sentence of Scooter Libby? For, from his own statement, Bush found the act deeply distasteful. In that statement, Bush calls Libby’s crimes “serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice.” He praises Patrick Fitzgerald as “a … Continue reading “How Scooter Skated”

I see that our befuddled, subliterate president is likening U.S. troops in Iraq to the soldiers of the Continental Army: this is true, but only in the Bizarro World sense employed by Bush and his neocon minions, who live in an alternate universe where up is down, right is wrong, and the invasion of Iraq … Continue reading “The World Turned
Upside-Down”

JERUSALEM – It was the achievement Hamas had been waiting for ever since it vanquished the Fatah movement in Gaza and seized control of the coastal strip last month. Now, the Islamic movement is hoping that the release Wednesday of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, held captive in Gaza for almost four months, will convince the … Continue reading “Hamas Hopes to Gain From Release of BBC Reporter”

ANKARA – The button of the stopwatch counting down the invasion of northern Iraq by the Turkish army was probably pressed on Tuesday, at an impromptu meeting between Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two men have, in theory, scheduled meetings on Thursdays, which are often not maintained, as … Continue reading “Countdown to Turkish Invasion of Iraq Begins”

Many of America’s most prominent journalists want us to forget what they were saying and writing more than four years ago to boost the invasion of Iraq. Now, they tiptoe around their own roles in hyping the war and banishing dissent to the media margins. The media watch group FAIR (where I’m an associate) has … Continue reading “A Bloody Media Mirror”

Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose Kenneth B. Pyle Public Affairs, 2007 433 pp. Asia is changing, and with it the global balance of power. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is well on its way to becoming a regional power, an indispensable partner to most other nations in East Asia. Later … Continue reading “A New Era in Asia:
Japan Rising“

Updated at 11:58 p.m. EDT, July 5, 2007At least 82 Iraqis were killed and 87 more were wounded in the latest violence. In Mosul, Christians have been ordered to leave town or face beheadings. Also, two MND-B soldiers were killed and two more were wounded when an explosively formed projectile struck their vehicle in southern … Continue reading “Thursday: 3 GIs, 82 Iraqis Killed; 87 Iraqis Injured”