Taliban for Dummies: Learning from American & Soviet mistakes in Afghanistan by Jane Stillwater Back in 2003, I checked out my name on Google for the first time -- just to see what, if anything, would come up. Tentatively I typed in "Jane Stillwater" and OMG! There I was! And to my even further surprise I had actually been cited on www.FreeRepublic.com! Me? And not only that, but the Freepers were quoting a letter that I had written to the editors of Time magazine. AND the reason that the Freepers were quoting it was because apparently a copy of my letter had somehow shown up in Lee Boyd Malvo's jail cell! How Twilight Zone is that?
Why Marijuana Legalization is Gaining Momentum by xxdr_zombiexx ome people are probably getting tired of the cannabis diaries.Tough.The issue has hit the mainstream and is now here to stay. It is not getting stuffed back into the bottle. It may not get on TV as soon as it should - which should have been 40 years ago - but it's politics, which means the right thing to do must be done last.
The Washington Post Sees Neocon Hope in Obama by Robert Parry When reading Washington Post editorials, one often is reminded of the famous question from “Shawshank Redemption”: “How can you be so obtuse?”Of course, in the movie, the warden wasn’t being “obtuse” as much as he was obfuscating and obstructing. And similarly, one has to wonder if the Post’s apparent obtuseness is really something willful, that there is a method to the maddening stupidity.
Tomgram: Michael Klare, Boom Times for Criminal Syndicates by Tom Engelhardt — from TomDispatchLast Wednesday, the front page of the Wall Street Journal pulled no punches. The lead headline was: "Global Slump Seen Deepening." ("The outlook for the global economy worsened on the eve of a summit of the world's 20 biggest economic powers…") A chart just beneath that headline, labeled "Gloomier Outlook" and showing World Bank economic projections, was nothing short of dramatic. The graph line for world trade simply plunged off a visual cliff and, like an arrow heading for a target, went straight down. The last paragraph of the piece quoted World Bank President Robert Zoellick this way: "In London, Washington, and Paris, people talk of bonuses or no bonuses. In parts of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, the struggle is for food or no food."
Wall St. ticks off the world: Financial crisis, not armed terrorists, greatest threat to U.S. security by Eric Margolis The current international financial disaster brought on by Wall Street has created 25 million unemployed around the globe. People everywhere are mad as hell at both their leaders and America.U.S. intelligence says this financial crisis, not al-Qaida, is the greatest threat to national security.
Have We Reached the Tipping Point on Guns? by Cenk Uygur How many shootings does there have to be in the news before we wonder about the wisdom of allowing just about anyone to get a gun in America? Our gun culture is completely out of control.In just the last two days we have had 13 people killed in Binghamton, NY with a 9 mm and a .45-caliber, three police officers shot and killed in Pittsburgh with an assault rifle and two other guns, and a five children killed with a shotgun in Washington at the hands of their own father. How many will it take before we say enough is enough?
Escape from the Zombie Food Court by Joe Bageant Joe Bageant recently spoke at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University at Lexington, and the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, where he was invited to speak on American consciousness and what he dubbed "The American Hologram," in his book, Deer Hunting With Jesus. Here is a text version of the talks, assembled from his remarks at all three schools.
U.S. Offers Refuge to Cubans, Even if They're Not From Cuba by Joel Millian The world-wide economic crunch has slammed shut ports of entry for immigrants almost everywhere, and in some places even produced offers of all-expense-paid trips home, courtesy of the migrants' host countries.Thanks to a recent twist on a relic of the Cold War, however, there is a welcome mat out for an expanding number of U.S.-bound migrants -- so long as they can establish that they are citizens of Cuba, even if they have never set foot on the island.
Italy muzzled scientist who foresaw earthquake; warning removed from Internet by Raw Story Italy quake kills 92, devastates historic townA powerful earthquake tore through central Italy on Monday killing more than 90 people as Renaissance buildings in a historic town were reduced to rubble.The quake hadn't been completely unexpected. Italy muzzled a scientist who foresaw it.
Portugal's drug decriminalization 'bizarrely underappreciated': Greenwald by Rachel Oswald Champions of harsh drug criminalization laws as the best solution to curbing drug use will be chagrined to find that Portugal’s eight year history of decriminalization has led to lower drug usage rates.According to a new report entitled, “Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies,” while drug use across the European Union has risen steadily since 2000, Portugal, which has the most liberal drug laws of any country, has actually seen its prevalence rates decrease in various age groups since it decriminalized all drugs in 2001. Prevalence rates measure how many people have consumed drugs over the course of their lifetime.
ABC: One month of gun violence claims 48 lives by David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster In the last month, 48 lives have been claimed in just seven mass shootings across the United States, according to published reports."What is going on with the gun rampages in America?" asked ABC's Diane Sawyer on a Monday episode of Good Morning America.
A dying racist struggles to deal with his past sins by Helen O'Neill Elwin Hope Wilson leans back in his recliner at his home in Rock Hill, SC, a sad, sickly man haunted by time.Antique clocks, at least a hundred of them, fill his neat ranch home on Tillman Street. Grandfather clocks, mantel clocks, cuckoos and Westministers, all ticking, chiming and clanging in an hourly cacophony that measures the passing days.
Consumers fall behind on loans at record rate by Kathy Chu A record number of consumers are falling delinquent or into default on their loans, a problem that some economists say will only get worse this year.A record 4.2% of consumer loans were delinquent at least 30 days in the fourth quarter, the latest data available, according to the Federal Reserve. Another 4% of consumer loans were in default, meaning they'd been written off by lenders.
Strong quake in Italy kills over 150, wounds 1,500 by Marta Falconi L'AQUILA, Italy – Rescue workers using bare hands and buckets searched frantically for students believed buried in a wrecked dormitory after Italy's deadliest quake in nearly three decades struck this medieval city before dawn Monday, killing more than 150 people, injuring 1,500 and leaving tens of thousands homeless. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake buckled both ancient and modern buildings in and around L'Aquila, snuggled in a valley surrounded by the snowcapped Apennines' tallest peaks.
A most Nobel nominee by Stephen C. Webster Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. And you might be thinking, 'Who cares? So was Henry Kissinger.' And you'd be right to treat the high honor with skepticism. But it's Dr. al-Aish's story and personal committment to peace that make him such a remarkable Nobel nominee.
