U.S. deaths in Iraq at 4,000
by Alexandra Zavis
Four U.S. soldiers were killed when a bomb hit their vehicle in southern Baghdad late Sunday, bringing the number of U.S. personnel killed in the Iraq War to 4,000.The grim milestone came at a time when attacks against the U.S. military are ebbing and officials have claimed significant progress against Iraq's deadly insurgency and sectarian violence. It was reached about 10 p.m. on a day when more than 60 Iraqis were killed and dozens injured in attacks in Baghdad and north of the capital. |
Taming the Beast
by Paul Krugman
We’re now in the midst of an epic financial crisis, which ought to be at the center of the election debate. But it isn’t.Now, I don’t expect presidential campaigns to have all the answers to our current crisis — even financial experts are scrambling to keep up with events. But I do think we’re entitled to more answers, and in particular a clearer commitment to financial reform, than we’re getting so far. |
McCain’s Gaffes Reflect Bush’s Iran-Qaeda Myth
by Gareth Porter
Sen. John McCain’s confusion in recent allegations of Iranian training of al Qaeda fighters in Iraq is the result of a drumbeat of official propaganda about close Iran-al Qaeda ties that the George W. Bush administration and neoconservatives have promoted ever since early 2002.0322 02 |
Another Way of Thinking about Tibet?
by Barry Yourgrau
There was a thought-provoking and contrarian op-ed in the NY Times yesterday regarding Tibet and the Dalai Lama, by the English author Patrick French. It's titled "He May Be a God, but He's No Politician." (I've linked to a blog that has the whole piece up) |
Leaving Iran the Gift of Iraq
by Jon Faulkner
It’s astonishing that so many Americans failed to see George Bush as the disreputable fraud he is. A stacked Supreme Court foisted him off on Americans and the nation has paid dearly ever since. After eight years of incalculable damage the shiftless, irresponsible Bush, will ride off into the sunset to retire to Crawford. He’ll leave a ruined economy and an endless war behind. Iran will embrace Iraq in its effort against the Great Satin while Putin sails into the Gulf offering his services as a peace negotiator and major trading partner. Putin will get a very real chance to supplant the U.S. and claim Russia the world’s only superpower. Such is the incalculable damage Junior has visited on the U.S. “Boy, I bet this is the kind of stuff that would keep a president up at night,” said the president. You don’t worry? Loose sleep? “Nope, everything’s fine here!” Thus spoketh George. |
Obama's Rorschach speech on race in America
by Weldon Berger
My own Obama speech moment: as I was walking home late on the night of the speech, I ran across four black teenagers, probably 15 or 16 years old. They started to cross the street as I approached. As we passed in opposite directions I heard one of them say, "You see that Charlie Manson-looking motherfucker? Why they let serial killers walk around this time of night?" |
Obama, Ferraro, Wright: 'Postracial' Meets Racism
by The Nation
"The way we see things is affected by what we know and what we believe," wrote John Berger in Ways of Seeing. "The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled."When former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro sees Barack Obama--a black man, raised by a single mother, whose middle name is Hussein and whose surname rhymes with Osama--she sees privilege. |
Letter calls official Spitzer story into question
by Raw Story
In the 1970s, he was on the payroll of Richard Nixon's now-infamous Committee to Reelect the President. In the 1980s, he helped George Bush Sr. trounce Michael Dukakis by floating a racially charged ad about the Democratic governor's role in furloughing a black inmate. And in 2000, he organized the so-called "Brooks Brothers" riot, forcing the shutdown of a recount in Miami-Dade County, Florida, that may have turned the election to George W. Bush. |
Tomgram: Michael Schwartz on How to Disintegrate an Iraqi City
by Tom Engelhardt
Once again last week, the President and his men surged into the headlines, announcing that we had just zipped past yet another of those Iraqi "turning points." Or, as George W. Bush put it while speaking at the Pentagon (and perhaps dreaming of the days back in 2005 when he could still happily mention "victory" 15 times and "progress" 28 times in a speech about Iraq): "The surge is working. And as a return on our success in Iraq, we've begun bringing some of our troops home. The surge has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around -- it has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror." |
We Can't Take Iraq Neat, We Need a Chaser
by Russ Wellen
The upcoming presidential election and the economy are pretty poor excuses for our inability to focus on Iraq. Especially since we've not only passed the 4,000 mark of American dead, but 25 were killed in a recent two-week span.It's frightening how comfortable we've learned to live with the war since the "surge" supposedly turned things around. The continuing carnage among those who were supposed to enjoy some of the fruits of our liberation isn't even on our radar screens. |
It's Wake Up Time
by Stephen Fleischman
We don't have nightmares asleep any more--we wake up into them.An endless war. An imminent crash. An election campaign in which the three contenders are corporate candidates. High crimes and misdemeanors that go unchallenged.The perfect storm.This is the United States where the America Dream, at one time, could become a reality. This is the America of Franklin Roosevelt who built a safety net under his people. This is the America of Watergate that forced accountability on its leaders. |
Richardson: 'I am very loyal to the Clintons'
by CNN
Facing fire from some fellow Democrats for his decision to endorse Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Bill Richardson said Sunday he still considers himself loyal to the family that helped make his political career. "I am very loyal to the Clintons. I served under President Clinton. But I served well. And I served the country well. And he gave me that opportunity," Richardson told "Fox News Sunday." |
Mexico is on the road to surpassing the U.S. — as world's fattest country
by Franco Ordonez
Fueled by the rising popularity of soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, Mexico has become the second fattest nation in the world. Mexican health officials say it could surpass the U.S. as the most obese country within 10 years if trends continue.More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national surveys. |
As oil prices rise, Cheney praises Saudi Arabia
by John Byrne
On his whirlwind tour of US allies in the Middle East, Vice President Dick Cheney praised oil giant Saudi Arabia for keeping their word on increasing oil production as prices of gasoline in the United States soars.Cheney told reporters in Jerusalem that the Saudis "kept their word" when they promised in 2005 to boost production. |
Curveball: 'I Am Not To Blame' for U.S. War in Iraq
by Maddy Sauer
The Iraqi defector known as "Curveball," whose fabricated stories about mobile biological weapons labs helped lead the U.S. to war in Iraq five years ago, says he is not to blame for the war and that he never said Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, according to a new report released this weekend in the German magazine Der Spiegel. |
No Carville apology for Judas remark
by AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton adviser James Carville is refusing to apologize for comparing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Judas.Carville made the comparison to The New York Times after Richardson, once a member of President Clinton's Cabinet, endorsed Hillary Clinton rival Barack Obama last week for the Democratic presidential nomination. Carville called it an "act of betrayal," and pointed out that it came during Holy Week. |
Watchdog Group Names Top Corporate Abusers
by Haider Rizvi
A corporate watchdog group has started a nationwide voting campaign to name and shame companies that run afoul of economic and environmental laws.0324 12Opening the polls on its Web site this week, the Boston-based Corporate Accountability International (CAI) organization urged consumers to select the “most abusive” corporations of 2008. |
