Well, the pending US nuclear aid to India is now official, with India hailed as a beacon of “responsible” nuclear development (which we argue is as oxymoronic as “authentic reproduction,” “corporate responsibility,” “military music,” etc.). This despite the fact that… Read moreIndia gets US nuclear aid; oil issues in background
From Reuters, July 19: UK court convicts Afghan warlord LONDON: A British court has convicted Faryadai Sarwar Zardad, a former Afghan warlord, of torturing and terrorising civilians in his homeland for four years in what prosecutors said was the first… Read moreUK convicts Afghan warlord
Saddam Hussein has finally been indicted by the Iraqi Special Tribunal, for a July 1982 massacre of some 150 Shi’ites at Dujail, a town north of Baghdad. But the ex-dictator’s lawyer Giovanni di Stefano is demanding that the trial be… Read moreSaddam indicted; Iran demands war crimes charges
The Project on Defense Alternatives sends the following press release: New proposal outlines “near-total” troop withdrawal by September 2006; Early exit from Iraq depends on political compromise The United States could safely withdraw almost all its forces from Iraq within… Read moreProject on Defense Alternatives proposal for Iraq: “400 days and out”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) runs a July 13 piece from the Florida Times-Union, “Muslim Leaders Condemning Terror to Deaf?” in which columnist Mark Woods speaks to CAIR’s new chairman Parvez Ahmed and finds that such Muslim condemnations are… Read moreIslam and terror: two Muslim views
There are twin moral and intellectual traps most commentators are falling into vis-a-vis the London bombings. The first is the terrifyingly myopic and widespread consensus which is emerging that the attack “wasn’t about Iraq.” The increasingly predictable Christopher Hitchens writes… Read moreThe London bombings: context vs. apologia
The offices of the Oaxaca daily Noticias continues to be under siege by loyalists of the state’s entrenched political machine—yet, amazingly, the paper continues to publish. This July 15 report from Dos Mundos, Kansas City’s bilingual newspaper: Journalists held hostage… Read moreNewspaper siege, political violence continue in Oaxaca
The Zapatista communities in Chiapas are beginning to return to normal, as the rebels’ “red alert” has been lifted. The rebels say they are about to commence work on the new political initiative—still somewhat vaguely defined—which they agreed upon in… Read moreZapatistas end “red alert,” begin work on political initiative
And, really, we could have done without this one. From the New York Times, July 15 via TruthOut: Chinese General Threatens Use of A-Bombs if US Intrudes Beijing – China should use nuclear weapons against the United States if the… Read moreChina rattles nuclear sabre
Jeez, will people please stop blowing other people up already? This is really getting old. Minibus Explosion in Turkey Leaves 5 Dead ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A bomb tore apart a minibus in a popular Aegean beach resort town Saturday,… Read moreTerror in Turkey
We have noted before that the world-shaking London attacks took a toll equivalent to the average bad day in Iraq. Well, Iraq is having another bad day. From Reuters: Suicide bomber truck kills 55 in Iraq Sat. July 16 BAGHDAD… Read moreAnother bad day in Iraq
This July 14 commentary from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty provides some long-overdue real analysis on the Iraqi insurgency. While the anti-war movement either ignores or glorifies the blood-drenched and reactionary “resistance” in Iraq, RFE/RL, funded by the State Department (which,… Read moreIraq: terrorism or “honorable resistance”?
