Month: May 2008

Although the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. has treated us to nutty and racist rants, which included saying that the even more bigoted Minister Louis Farrakhan is one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st centuries, and that the U.S. government was capable of having used the AIDS virus to commit genocide against minorities, … Continue reading “Rev. Wright Is Not All Wrong”

Updated at 7:42 p.m. EDT, May 4, 2008At least 33 Iraqis were killed and 66 more were wounded in the latest violence. Mosul was the scene of numerous small attacks, but clashes in Sadr City continue to claim the most lives. No Coalition deaths were reported. In Baghdad, three dumped bodies were recovered. Four bodyguards … Continue reading “Sunday: 33 Iraqis Killed, 66 Wounded”

Updated at 9:55 p.m. EDT, May 3, 2008At least 44 Iraqis were killed and 122 more were wounded in the latest violence. Turkey reports that 150 PKK rebels were killed during their activities in northern Iraq, but there is no confirmation of that figure. Five American and two Georgian servicemembers were killed in separate incidents. … Continue reading “Saturday: 5 GIs, 1 US Contractor, 2 Georgian Soldiers, 44 Iraqis Killed; 122 Iraqis Wounded”

FALLUJAH – Amidst unemployment and impoverishment, Iraqis now face a cutting down of their monthly food ration – much of it already eaten away by official corruption. Iraqis survived the sanctions after the first Gulf War (1990) with the support of rations through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The aid was set up in 1995 … Continue reading “Corruption Eats Into Iraqis’ Food Rations”

After a four-year legal battle, a US federal judge has dismissed all charges against an avant-garde artist who public officials condemned as a bio-terrorist in a case critics are calling "a persecution, not a prosecution." The artist is Dr. Steven Kurtz, a professor of Visual Studies at the University of Buffalo, and a founding member … Continue reading “Fabricated ‘Bioterrorism’ Case Collapses”

While you’re anxiously awaiting a determination by the neo-crazies as to whether the Bush-Cheney White House must launch yet another war of aggression in the Middle East to remove a "threat" to our Major Non-NATO Ally, Israel, or whether launching that war can be safely left to the Whoever-Lieberman White House, you might reflect upon … Continue reading “Lieberman’s Tough Questions”

The economy seems to have overtaken the war as a live concern for potential voters, which to a great extent reflects the economic uncertainty many people are feeling – more than may be warranted by their own personal prospects, but real enough to affect political perceptions, even though the president has less real control over … Continue reading “The Candidates’ Similarities”

Updated at 10:25 p.m. EDT, May 2, 2008At least 30 Iraqis were killed and 36 more wounded in the latest violence. No Coalition deaths were reported. Also, Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) locations deep within northern Iraq. In Sadr City, seven people were killed and nine were wounded during clashes. U.S. forces killed … Continue reading “Friday: 30 Iraqis Killed, 36 Wounded”

Douglas J. Feith’s new book War and Decision. Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism is an old-fashioned morality tale written by a man with little discernible moral sense or any real concern for the truth. In a nutshell, Feith’s story resembles a 1930s cowboy movie. In the white hats are … Continue reading “Douglas Feith’s War and Decision: Life in a Neocon’s Parallel Universe”

It’s like old times in the Persian Gulf. As of this week, a second aircraft carrier battle task force is being sent in – not long after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen highlighted planning for “potential military courses of action” against Iran; just as the Bush administration’s catechism of charges against the … Continue reading “The Iranian Chessboard”