Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that a big dispute has broken out between the three largest blocs in parliament. The government has so far been characterized by an alliance of the Shiite Iraqi Accord Front with the Kurdistan Alliance. But now the Shiites want to equip the Iraqi military with F-16s. The day before yesterday, the […]
Eyewitnesses: Palin Asked Repeatedly about Removing Books: Eyewitness: "No Way it was Rhetorical."
Despite the whitewashing attempt being made by the Republican Party, it is obvious to me that the allegation stands, that Palin inquired pointedly and repeatedly with the Wasilla librarian about how to remove objectionable books from the library. “Mary Ellen Emmons was Wasilla’s librarian at the time. She told a local newspaper, the Mat-Su Valley […]
Dirty Wars in Baghdad
We know Iraq has been the scene of several wars in recent years. But it seems increasingly clear that it has been a set of dirty wars. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that Ali al-Lami, an Iraqi politician, protege of Ahmad Chalabi,and member of the Debaathification Committee,is being charged by a high unnamed American official with […]
Cole in Salon: What’s the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists?
My column has appeared in Salon.com, What’s the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick! Excerpt: ‘ The GOP vice-presidential pick holds that abortion should be illegal, even in cases of rape, incest or severe birth defects, making an exception only if the life of the mother is in danger. She calls abortion an “atrocity” […]
Drake: In Pursuit of Osama Bin Laden
Richard Drake writes in a guest book review for IC, reprinted by the author’s permission from The Great Falls Tribune, 7 September 2008 : In Pursuit of Osama Bin Laden Barack Obama’s early and consistent critique of the war in Iraq gave him high standing during the Democratic primary campaign. On this crucial issue, he […]
Biden: And the Economy . . ?
Biden complains that his GOP rivals virtually ignored the economy in favor of snarky personal attacks. At a time when the Republican Party is forced into socialist policies in taking over two major mortgage companies to prevent a general collapse of the mortgage market, you’d think a proposal for fixing it would be more important […]
Biden to McCain: Now What? Shell to Develop Iraqi Gas
Joe Biden wants to know what exactly John McCain’s plans are for Iraq, beyond this vague claim of ‘victory.’ Iraq has approved a preliminary deal with Royal Dutch Shell to develop its natural gas fields. Shell recently pulled out of a deal to develop Iran’s much more extensive gas fields, out of fear of being […]
US Missile Strike on Haqqani Compound; New President Faces Economic Mess in Pakistan
New Pakistani president Asaf Ali Zardari will face the challenge of a struggling economy. The stock market has lost 40% of its value since last March, currency reserves are deplete, and high energy and food costs are hitting ordinary folk hard. Aljazeera English examines the remarkable victory of Asaf Ali Zardari in Saturday’s presidential election […]
Zardari President; 65 Killed in Bombings, Clashes
For the nine years before 2005, Asaf Ali Zardari, widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was in prison facing corruption charges. On Saturday Zardari was elected president of Pakistan. Ironically, given Bush’s neoconservative agenda of democratizing the Muslim world, the most significant steps toward genuine parliamentary governance and rule of law, in Pakistan during […]
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