Month: October 2007

I had been thinking recently that I might start a business that would export fruitcakes to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. That was the most appropriate export I could think of. But the president has put the kibosh on that idea with his tough new sanctions. Despite always being described as tough, sanctions imposed by Congress … Continue reading “The Fruitcake Trade”

The title comes from a chapter-heading of J.A. Hobson’s pamphlet The Psychology of Jingoism (1901). Some of its other chapter-headings are Credulity, Brutality, The Eclipse of Humour, and The Abuse of the Press. An indictment of the Boer War and of the press campaign that made it possible, The Psychology of Jingoism offers an impressive … Continue reading “Are Educated Jingoes Honest?”

Updated at 7:20 p.m. EDT, Oct. 26, 2007At least 48 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 29 others were wounded in the latest attacks, while two American servicemembers were killed and seven more GIs were wounded in separate incidents. The U.S. Consulate in Hilla came under a mortar attack as well. The DOD reported … Continue reading “Friday: 2 GIs, 48 Iraqis Killed; 29 Iraqis Wounded”

The heads of the US State and Treasury Departments jointly announced new sanctions aimed at the further economic isolation of Iran Thursday, citing the Islamic Republic’s defiance on its continued nuclear program and its alleged involvement with terrorist organizations. The George W. Bush administration’s announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions with the Iranian … Continue reading “Dialogue Undermined by White House’s Iran Sanctions”

When the US military command accused the Iranian Quds Force last January of providing the armor-piercing EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) that were killing US troops, it knew that Iraqi machine shops had been producing their own EFPs for years, a review of the historical record of evidence on EFPs in Iraq shows. The record also … Continue reading “US Military Ignored Evidence of Iraqi-Made EFPs”

Evidently, Blackwater, the now infamous private security company whose hired guns, working for the State Department, mowed down at least 17 Iraqis in a Baghdad square recently, wants to soften its image. (I wonder why?) The New York Times‘ Paul von Zielbauer just reported that the company has redesigned its logo. Once, according to him, … Continue reading “(Un)Fair Game”

The debate over the Iraq war has become a spectacle of dueling narratives. You’ll recall, however, that in the beginning there was only one narrative, and that was the War Party’s. We were told that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction,” a war machine that included nuclear, chemical, and biological components. Hardly anyone disputed this. … Continue reading “The War in the Media”

The despotic regime in Myanmar is among the most odious governments on earth. The military has ruled the isolated state for more than four decades. The urban democracy movement, symbolized by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for years has battled bullets and beatings. Even more bloody has been the half-century struggle for autonomy by … Continue reading “Make China Be Nice?”

Nahr al-Bared is a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of Lebanon which has been home to about 40,000 Palestinian people, most of whom are the children and grandchildren of those who left Palestine in 1948. Some like Abu Mohammad were born in Palestine. He was ten years old, and next year it will be … Continue reading “What Happened in Nahr al-Bared?”

Updated at 11:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 25, 2007At least 65 Iraqis were killed and 30 more were wounded in the latest violence. Tensions also continue at the Turkish border. And, the Sadrist bloc urged Mahdi Army members throughout the country to give up their arms. Turkish troops clashed with Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) rebels in … Continue reading “Thursday: 65 Iraqis Killed, 30 Wounded”