Sanction the IAEA Board, Not Iran

You probably heard that – as a result of extreme pressure brought by the Bush-Cheney administration – a special meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors was convened last week to discuss what to do about the "gravest" threat to...

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Who Will Blow the Whistle Before We Attack Iran?

The question looms large against the backdrop of the hearing on whistleblowing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon by Christopher Shays, chair of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. Among those testifying are Russell...

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US Risks Reporter’s Life to Strike Tough Pose

The George W. Bush administration went well beyond refusing to negotiate with terrorists in its handling of the threat by freelance journalist Jill Carroll's abductors to kill her if all female detainees were not released from U.S.-run prisons in Iraq. According to...

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Backtalk, February 13, 2006

The Adulation of IgnorancePlease bear with me because this might sound a bit strange. I was at a loss to understand the Bush administration's policies until I recently watched the movie Goldfinger. In the movie, James Bond discovered that Goldfinger's target was the...

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

If one watches corporate media or listens to Cheney administration propaganda, one is either not getting information about Iraq at all, or hearing that things are looking up as the U.S. approaches another "phase" in the occupation. Just taking a brief look...

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Putin the Peacemaker

Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to the leaders of Hamas to come to Moscow killed two birds with one stone: it elevated his international stature to statesmanlike proportions, and it showed up American policymakers as a bunch of petulant ideologues. Putin...

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The Bureaucracy Strikes Back

In the first installment of this series, I offered 42 names to begin what now seems an endless – and ever growing – list of top officials as well as beleaguered administrators, managers, and career civil servants who quit their government posts in protest or...

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Snags Surface in India-US Nuclear Deal

NEW DELHI - The chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has sent shock waves through the Indian establishment by accusing the United States of "changing the goal post" while finalizing a far-reaching, one-of-its-kind nuclear cooperation deal with India,...

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Rebirth

Zhuang Jian is at once typical and atypical of his generation. He was born in the midst of the Cultural Revolution and was but a small boy when it ended. For him, being "Sent Down to the Countryside" was one of the best times of his life, running wild in the...

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