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“[N]o legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply management or attempt to monopolize transportation,” thundered Vice President Cheney to the international pro-democracy conference in Vilnius, Lithuania. “[N]o one can justify actions that undermine the territorial integrity of a neighbor, or interfere with democratic movements.” Cheney’s … Continue reading “Why Are We Baiting Putin?”

Monday’s nomination by U.S. President George W. Bush of Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to take over the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from the hapless Porter Goss has predictably intensified speculation over what is really going on behind the scenes. Most analysts see the shifts as the latest battle between the director of national intelligence … Continue reading “Cui Bono? Negroponte or Rumsfeld?”

"Hold ’em, Yale" is one of the best short stories of Guys and Dolls creator Damon Runyon, who depicted the New York City underworld in the 1920s. The story deals with an undercover operation to scalp ducats before the annual Yale-Harvard football game. It begins: "What I am doing in New Haven on the day … Continue reading “My Meeting With Rumsfeld”

The burning issue in Washington today is high gas prices, and it won’t go away anytime soon. Americans are not happy about paying $3 per gallon at the pump, and they want something done about it. But price controls won’t work, and allegations of price gouging and "windfall profits" amount to nothing more than congressional … Continue reading “Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy, and Gas Prices”

Either most members of the media elite have a reading comprehension problem – which would necessarily result in low scores for them on standard IQ tests – or they deliberately misrepresent to you what they have read. Now, that’s not too serious when you can determine for yourself whether they are dolts or liars. But … Continue reading “Dolts or Liars”

Sixty South Korean activists will face criminal after they attacked police as part of a thousand-strong protest against a government plan to expand a U.S. military base in Pyongtaek, about an hour’s drive south of Seoul. According to press reports, clashes came after Army engineers on Thursday cordoned off two townships about 70 km south … Continue reading “Korean Farmers Clash With the Empire”

Comrade Cheney vs. President PutinBeing a modest student of geopolitics and the history of the great game, I have never doubted that the primary reason, the final target of America’s involvement in the Middle East is the breakup of Russia. Sure, there are other reasons as well, each playing a part, but if one would … Continue reading “Backtalk, May 8, 2006”

To George Clooney and the other Americans who demonstrated and demanded that the U.S. intervene in the Darfur region of Sudan, I have a simple and clear message: Buy yourself a gun and plenty of ammunition, and go intervene yourself. In the 1930s, a tougher breed of Americans didn’t just demonstrate. They formed the Abraham … Continue reading “Want to Intervene in Darfur? Go Ahead”

Sunday’s Independent carries a piece speculating on whether former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw lost his job, in part, because the Bush regime disliked his lack of crusading fervor. Francis Elliott writes: "Jack Straw’s fate was sealed in a phone call from the White House to Tony Blair last month, according to the former foreign … Continue reading “Straw Canned Over Iran?”

All the wheels and pulleys of a very familiar narrative are swinging into motion, creaking and grating against gears, as the usual suspects grind out their war propaganda. Every day, it seems, there is some newly discovered quotation from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in which he seems to be auditioning for the part of Hitler’s … Continue reading “The Next World War”