Category: Uncategorized

While we’ve been seeing a lot of analyses lately regarding the divine-emperor, theocratic identity of George W. Bush, what we now need to understand is how Bush strategists have changed Americans by fashioning a new identity for the Bush/war supporter: obedient/"good" child, faithful/"good" Christian, and popular/"good" patriot. If you wonder why even thinking about losing … Continue reading “Never Smile at a Crocodile II”

Even before retiring, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet – who had presided over two of the worst intelligence failures in history – tried to salvage something of his reputation. In remarks he made last February at his alma mater, Georgetown University, Tenet concluded by saying, "Last year in my annual World Wide Threat testimony … Continue reading “What’s All the Fuss About A.Q. Khan?”

One of the oldest U.S. overseas relief organizations has called for the United States to immediately withdraw from Iraq in light of the continuing carnage and Washington’s failure to restore basic services or revive the country’s economy. The statement by the Philadelphia-based American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) came a day after U.S. forces suffered their … Continue reading “US Relief Group Calls for Iraq Withdrawal”

While President George W. Bush’s November reelection topped the Associated Press‘ (AP) annual listing of the top 10 news stories for 2004, the other leading choices suggested that the news media might have helped him in his quest. The list, which reflected the votes of 234 national and local editors, news directors, and similar "gatekeepers," … Continue reading “Terrorism Shaped 2004 News Agenda”

BELGRADE – A new war has broken out between Serbs and Croats, this time without casualties and bloodshed because the battleground is cyberspace. In less than a week, hackers on both sides have crashed the most popular Web sites, leaving challenging messages but short of the hatred the two nations found for one another in … Continue reading “Serb-Croat Battleground Moves to Cyberspace”

I don’t believe in God, but the Devil is another matter entirely. Proof of the Malevolent One’s existence is all around us, and he’s been pretty busy lately – filling the military hospitals with the wounded (30,000-plus so far), torturing and otherwise abusing helpless prisoners of war (the Devil never signed the Geneva conventions), and … Continue reading “The Devil’s Christmas”

"Doc, we had a huge blowout at Thanksgiving and now the family is split between pro-war, pro-Bush and antiwar, anti-Bush factions. Some people are no longer on speaking terms. Everybody’s acting like this is some kind of civil war. Write about that – how can we get through to our pro-war relatives this Christmas?" Many … Continue reading “Never Smile at a Crocodile”

The mother of a man murdered by two British soldiers in Belfast has asked the U.S. Department of Defense to cancel a $293 million Iraq security contract awarded to their commanding officer. Irish human rights group the Pat Finucane Center has filed a detailed submission on behalf of Jean McBride challenging the Pentagon’s deal with … Continue reading “Mother Pleads to Pentagon Over Spicer Contract”

It is easy, observing the prospects for peace, let alone an American withdrawal any time soon in Iraq, to be discouraged this Christmas season. “There is no peace on earth, I said,” goes the line from the 19th-century Christmas song. And even though that song ends on a hopeful note, it is not difficult to … Continue reading “Restoring Christmas”

CAIRO – It’s lunch time in Cairo and two dozen Egyptian activists and intellectuals take break for tea and date bars. They’ve gathered in a community center near the city’s main train station to discuss new efforts to bring democracy to their country, which has been governed by an emergency law banning nearly all public … Continue reading “US Seeks to Silence Arab Democracy Activists”