By Sandy Dechert Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball, met more than his match last Thursday when he took on lively freshman Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Looked as if Matthews got a bit more than he expected, in the form of a very well-reasoned and remarkably civil tongue-lashing from the Massachusetts people’s choice. A […]
Iraq Crisis: It’s the Oil, Stupid!
By Michael Schwartz via Tomdispatch Events in Iraq are headline news everywhere, and once again, there is no mention of the issue that underlies much of the violence: control of Iraqi oil. Instead, the media is flooded with debate about, horror over, and extensive analysis of a not-exactly-brand-new terrorist threat, the Islamic State of Iraq […]
Cheney’s Blame Game on Iraq: Mess O’Potamia – 300 (Jon Stewart)
Jon Stewart of the Daily Show: “The militant group ISIS quickly gains control of much of Iraq, giving Dick Cheney an opportunity to place blame for the crisis on everyone but himself.” The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook —-
Obama’s Drone Memo Revealed: US Gov’t can over-rule 4th Amendment
By Sarah Lazare The U.S. government on Monday partially released the formerly-classified Department of Justice "drone memo," dated 2010, in which Obama administration lawyers argue they have the right to extra-judicially kill U.S. citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen. Anwar Al Aulaqi, who had been placed on a "kill list," died by U.S. drone strikes in […]
“Ready, Fire, Aim!” Are We Stumbling into another War?
By William R. Polk Analysis of foreign affairs problems often ends in a mental block. As we have seen in each of our recent crises — Somalia, Mali, Libya, Syria, Iraq, the Ukraine and Iran — “practical” men of affairs want quick answers: they say in effect, ‘don’t bother us with talk about how we […]
How WW I, British Greed, and Oil Distorted Modern Iran
By Farhad Malekafzali With one hundredth anniversary of the start of WWI fast approaching, the consequences of the war for Iran deserves attention. When it comes to European role in shaping Middle East, the better-known story is what happened in the Arab parts of that region. There the Anglo-French machinations planted the seeds of instability […]
Blue Planet et al. Appeal to UN over Detroit Water cut-off to Thousands
By Sarah Lazare 'By denying water service to thousands, Detroit is violating the human right to water.' As thousands of people in Detroit go without water, and the city moves to cut off services to tens of thousands more, concerned organizations have taken the unusual step of appealing to the United Nations to intervene and […]
Religion and the Fight over Public Space in Egypt
By Marwa Fikry Abdel Samei | Cairo (Special to Informed Comment) “Have you pronounced blessings on the Prophet today?” These words alarmed the Egyptian regime and impelled it to announce a war on the posters carrying them. Last week, whenever you go around the streets of Cairo and some other governorates, you could hardly miss […]
Israel Threatens Witnesses to its Killings of Palestinians, and it Must Stop
Via Human Rights Watch Israeli Army targets Man Whose Cameras Recorded Deaths Israel should be investigating these deaths, but instead its forces seem intent on intimidating witnesses and ensuring future abuses won’t be caught on camera. The Israeli response to the killing of two boys looks more like an attempt to cover up than a […]