Month: July 2007

A major policy address Monday by U.S. President George W. Bush promoting a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has been greeted with considerable skepticism by Middle East specialists. Most analysts said Bush’s speech – including his pledge to provide some $190 million to support Palestine Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and convene a regional … Continue reading “Mideast Experts Skeptical About Bush PA Proposal”

Is the United States provoking war with Iran, to begin while the Congress is conveniently on its August recess? One recalls that it was in August 1964, after the Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater, that the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred. Twice it was said, on Aug. 2 and Aug. 4, North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked … Continue reading “Tonkin Gulf II and
the Guns of August?”

In his novel 1984, George Orwell portrayed a future time in which the explanations of recent events and earlier history are continually changed to meet Big Brother’s latest purpose. Previous explanations disappear down “the memory hole.” Sound familiar? Any American who pays attention can observe the identical phenomenon occurring in the U.S. today. Think about … Continue reading “A Free Press or a
Ministry of Truth?”

Those of us who opposed the expansion of NATO in 1999 (admitting Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic) and 2004 (Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the former Soviet republics of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) warned that it would lead to problems with Russia. Those problems have arrived. A resurgent Russia – flush with oil revenues … Continue reading “Payback for NATO Expansion”

For those tracking the long train of abuses and usurpations of a modern-day George who would be king and his eminence grise behind the throne, July 14 has a resonance far beyond the fireworks of Bastille Day. Four loosely related events on that same day four years ago throw revealing light on key ingredients of … Continue reading “July 14, 2003: Ill-Starred Day”

One of the myths created by the Israeli lobby is that Jews around the world are unanimous in their support of Israel, regardless of what it does. That’s not true and never has been true. Modern political Zionism, whose ideology demands a Jewish state with a Jewish majority, was invented by an Austrian journalist and … Continue reading “Cracks in Zionism”

Updated at 12:25 a.m. EDT, July 17, 2007A major multiple bombing took place in Kirkuk where hundreds were killed or injured. Overall, at least 158 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 265 were wounded in the latest violence. Also, an MNC-I soldier died from non-battle-related causes in Diwaniyah, while another GI died of non-battled-related … Continue reading “Monday: 158 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed; 265 Iraqis Wounded”

A national newspaper recently ran an entertaining piece on some of the most wrong-headed predictions of modern times. There was Margaret Thatcher’s 1972 claim that “there will not be a woman prime minister in my lifetime." And Ken Olsen’s 1977 prediction that “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." But … Continue reading “False Prophets”

It’s awfully quiet around here: everyone, it seems, is on vacation. That’s what normal folks do: they take vacations. They get on a plane and go live on a beach blanket for a week, in spite of the dollar’s downward dive, and drain their bodies of the accumulated poisons of everyday life. In my, uh, … Continue reading “Notes From a Beach Blanket”

Okay, it’s another lemon, the second you’ve bought from the same used-car lot – and for $1,000 more than the first. The transmission is a mess; the muffler’s clunking; smoke’s seeping out of the dashboard; and you’ve only had it a week. You took it, grudgingly, as a replacement for that beat-up old Camry that … Continue reading “Wrong Again!”