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Last Updated: May 8th, 2008 - 23:11:48 |
Commentary
First came Vietnam, then Iraq, now Iran lies directly in the crosshairs
By Michael Payne
History has a way of repeating itself but does anyone
really pay any attention? First there was the horror of the Vietnam War that
took the lives of more than 55,000 American troops and several million North
and South Vietnamese. Did we as a nation learn anything from that bloody
debacle? Apparently not much. Then shock and awe was brought down upon the
nation of Iraq in March 2003 in what has been described as one of the worst
foreign policy blunders in the history of America. This time, have we finally
learned our lesson? Maybe not as Iran appears to be directly in the crosshairs
of the perpetrators of endless war.
Apr 30, 2008, 00:10
Commentary
At the court of the caliph in Washington
By Abbas J. Ali, Ph.D.
Middle East experts argue that history repeats itself
in Iraq. In fact, the ongoing blood bath in Iraq resembles, although on a
larger scale, the scene in 680 AD when the Caliph in Damascus, Yazid, ordered
the slaughter of members of the Prophet Mohamed�s family, including his
immediate grandson, Hussein, in Karbala. The tragedy in Karbala has been
forever engraved in the collective mind of Iraqis and has become a symbol
uniting the masses against tyranny, political deception, corruption and
brutality.
Apr 29, 2008, 00:21
Commentary
�Blood diamonds,� �blood oil� and �blood food�
By Pablo Ouziel
For awhile now, I have been thinking about what
George W. Bush signifies from a socio-political perspective. Looking at the
world from the time of the �Big Bang� of September 11, 2001, until today almost
seven years later, one can clearly observe how monstrous our human interaction
has become. After much reading and analysis, I now understand that September 11
was not the starting point of a new world order, but to the contrary, it was
purely the end of a specific human state of affairs.
Apr 29, 2008, 00:13
Commentary
Simple steps towards change
By Mickey Z.
Whenever I write an article or give a talk about the
state of global affairs, the first question asked is this: �So, what can/should
we do?� My inevitably stammering reply involves a combination of three factors:
Apr 29, 2008, 00:11
Commentary
Mixed priorities: Why Palestinian unity is not an option
By Ramzy Baroud
Just days after the Hamas-Fatah clash last June in
Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looked firm and composed as
he shook hands with members of his new emergency government. He made sure his
move appeared as legitimate as possible, issuing decrees that outlawed the
armed militias of Hamas, and also suspended consequential clauses in the
Palestinian Basic Law, which had thus far served as a constitution.
Apr 28, 2008, 00:10
Commentary
America�s political trinity
By Ben Tanosborn
In the United States, if you aspire to occupy an
elective office, from the lowest position at the municipal level to the
imperial quarters of the White House, you must have been cleared beforehand as
a defender of the American faith, and that entails acceptance and devotion to
the dogma of a political trinity: Capitalism, Individualism and Israelism.
Apr 28, 2008, 00:08
Commentary
What happens when the gasoline station is on empty?
By Jerry Mazza
For those of you lucky enough to have outlived the
OPEC oil embargo on the US in late October of 1973; you who remember driving up
to the pump and the attendant (remember them) shrugging his shoulders, sorry,
pal, we�re out. And then there were the lines, long enough to be for free food,
to suck up the black gold so you could get your butt where you needed to be.
But those lines seemed to take forever, like the embargo.
Apr 25, 2008, 00:15
Commentary
Don't insult our pope, say Egyptians
By Linda S. Heard
At a time when the head of the Catholic Church Pope
Benedict XV1 was being warmly welcomed in the US and treated with reverence by
Americans of all faiths it's worth highlighting the shabby treatment meted out
to the leader of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, at the end of his recent
visit to Britain.
Apr 25, 2008, 00:13
Commentary
Open letter on 'Toronto 11' to authorities from 19 groups
(Ottawa, Canada - April 22, 2008) - In an open
letter, the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) in
partnership with the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), Canadian Islamic Congress
(CIC), Federation of Muslim Women (FMW), Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada,
Islamic Circle of North America Canada (ICNA Canada), Islamic Society of North
America Canada (ISNA Canada) and Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), along with
an additional 11 organizations, today asked authorities to consider reasonable
bail terms and re-examine the use of solitary confinement for the "Toronto
11."
Apr 25, 2008, 00:11
Commentary
An interview with Mickey Z.
By Maxwell Black
I manage a restaurant in DC where I'm often baffled by
the presence of people like Senator "Joe-mentum" or former Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright. Night after night of making sure the sons and
daughters of CEOs and Saudi oil barons get their grilled salmon on time can be
a bitter pill to swallow. However, on two nights last week I had a subversive
secret: whenever I had a moment I would sneak back to the office and tend to my
email interview with my hero, and under-read American mischief maker, Mickey Z.
The following is the result of our somewhat spontaneous interview.
Apr 25, 2008, 00:09
Commentary
What the Iraq war is about
By Paul Craig Roberts
The Bush Regime has quagmired America into a sixth
year of war in Afghanistan and Iraq with no end in sight. The cost of these
wars of aggression is horrendous. Official US combat casualties stand at 4,538
dead. Officially, 29,780 US troops have been wounded in Iraq. Experts have
argued that these numbers are understatements. Regardless, these numbers are
only the tip of the iceberg.
Apr 24, 2008, 00:16
Commentary
Negotiable or not, the American Way of Life must be extinguished
By Jason Miller
Is the Western consumerist culture that we inflict
upon the rest of the world truly the pinnacle of our evolution? If it is, I
resign my membership in the human race. Though I don�t fear that I�ll be
compelled to tender my resignation any time soon because our so-called
�non-negotiable American Way of Life� is a piece of shit, for myriad reasons.
Apr 24, 2008, 00:12
Commentary
Carter the bold peacemaker
By Linda S. Heard
If any one individual could make a difference in the
Middle East, former President Jimmy Carter is in the running. His statements
display sincerity, impartiality and the kind of objective wisdom that few elder
statesmen acquire once they are no longer in a competitive arena. He has close
links with regional leaders, is generally respected by all sides and has proved
that he has a personal commitment to peace.
Apr 23, 2008, 00:15
Commentary
Impeachment now or apocalypse later?
By Bernard Weiner
The political noose seems to be tightening on the key
members of the remaining miscreants down in the White House bunker -- mainly
Bush, Cheney, Rice, Addington and Mukasey. (Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales,
Powell and Tenet were pushed out the door earlier.) But will the Democrats,
having been provided with smoking gun-type evidence of these officials' high
crimes and misdemeanors, take the next logical step to end this continuing
nightmare of law-breaking at the highest levels?
Apr 23, 2008, 00:11
Commentary
The economic sacking of America
By Ben Tanosborn
In our historical readings of eastern and western
civilizations, we have been exposed to the many sacks by invading armies
against both lives and possessions of those living in great cities and enclaves
that may have offered resistance, but most often did not, to the invading
hordes. Rome was sacked several times; Jerusalem was besieged, then sacked by
the Crusaders; and, yes, so was Baghdad by the Mongols seven and a half
centuries before Americans would do the same, this time marching under the
banner of democracy and the laughable pretense of trying to liberate a
�dangerous,� faraway land.
Apr 22, 2008, 00:17
Commentary
Patriotism or jingoism?
By
Mary Shaw
I
am sick and tired of the media pundits pointing fingers at Barack Obama and
questioning his patriotism because he does not wear a flag pin on his lapel. At
the recent Democratic presidential candidates' debate here in Philadelphia, the
issue came up again, and more time was wasted on it.
Apr 22, 2008, 00:13
Commentary
Marriage in Egypt is a minefield
By Linda S. Heard
Like young people all over the world, getting married
features high on the itinerary of most Egyptians in their twenties. But in most
countries, tying the knot isn�t the often-insurmountable hurdle it is here due
to a combination of poverty, antiquated customs and meddling from family
members.
Apr 22, 2008, 00:11
Commentary
Bank of England announces new special liquidity scheme
By Peter Morici
The Bank of England (BOE) has announced a �50 billion
lending facility that will permit British banks and building societies to
borrow against mortgage-backed and other securities for terms up to one year,
and renewable by the BOE for up to three years.
Apr 22, 2008, 00:09
Commentary
The US-Palestine-Israel fairytale
By Ramzy Baroud
A memorable quote in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer Abroad
(1894) still carries a wealth of relevance. He writes, "They own the
[holy] land, just the mere land, and that's all they do own; but it was our
folks, our Jews and Christians, that made it holy, and so they haven't any
business to be there defiling it. It's a shame and we ought not to stand it a
minute. We ought to march against them and take it away from them."
Apr 21, 2008, 00:20
Commentary
The Left and Europe�s religious roots
By Gaither Stewart
ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI, the Bavarian conservative
Joseph Ratzinger, arrived in the USA last week asking forgiveness for the
pedophiles in the repressed ranks of the church he largely fashioned: the
reactionary, retrograde and still restive Roman Catholic Church.
Apr 21, 2008, 00:16
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