Seumas Milne: “Haiti’s poverty is treated as some baffling quirk of history…when in reality it is the direct consequence of a uniquely brutal relationship with the outside world — notably the US, France and Britain — stretching back centuries.” (h/t reddit.com). One of the many ways in which Aljazeera is superior to American news programs […]
Iraq war was illegal, Dutch panel rules
Iraq war was illegal, Dutch panel rules | World news | guardian.co.uk Of course it was illegal. There are only two conditions under which war may be launched according to the United Nations Charter, which most countries have signed. One is self-defense. Iraq did not attack the US in 2003. The other is if the […]
Biden Attempts to Mediate Sunni-Shiite Struggle in lead-up to Elections
Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad on Friday in a bid to settle conflicts over the March 7 parliamentary elections. The exclusion of hundreds of candidates from the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections by the Accountability and Justice Committee, and signed off on by the High Electoral Commission, continues to generate lively controversy in Iraq. […]
Is the Supreme Court Decision so Important in a Web 2.0 World? Can Corporations Compete in ‘Pull’ Media World Anyway?
Of course, I– like many social critics– am dismayed at the Supreme Court ruling striking down elements of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act, and essentially giving corporations carte blanche to pay for attack videos against candidates they do not like and to release them late in a campaign. But some of the hand-wringing about […]
World Health Agencies Condemn Israeli Blockade of Gaza (Again); Obama’s Biggest Mideast Failure
When a relief plane for the Physicians without Borders isn’t allowed to land by US military authorities at the airport in Port-au-Prince, there is an outcry. But Israeli military authorities will not allow any relief planes at all to land in the Gaza Strip (the Israelis destroyed Gaza’s airport in 2001). We cheer when a […]
Brown Wins, Robs Dems Of Filibuster-Proof Majority
Brown Wins, Robs Dems Of Filibuster-Proof Majority – Hotline On Call Juan cannot understand why Scott Brown can be elected with just 52% of the Massachusetts vote, but we can’t pass universal health care with 52% of the Senate vote. End/ (Not Continued)
One Year Later: Did Obama Win the Iraq War?
President Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated a year ago, and this is a good time to review his major foreign policy success. It is, of course, important that he has repaired the reputation of the US in much of the world and replenished the stock of ‘soft power’ that has been so important a part […]
Top Ten Counter-Terrorism Scandals 2010
The new year is not very old, but several recent revelations cast the the US fight against al-Qaeda (a tiny if deadly fraternity of a couple thousand fanatics spread in dozens of countries) in a bad light, if not to say a scandalous one. The entire premise of combating al-Qaeda as though it were an […]
Study Finds Exposure to Chemical Pollutants Increases Fat:
Study Finds Exposure to Chemical Pollutants Increases Fat: Scientific American Then there is the recent University of California study that indicates extra obesity risks from high fructose corn syrup. Contrary to the latter industry’s claims, it isn’t as safe as fruit juice and produces fat around the heart and tendencies to obesity. And American corporations […]