June 25, 2007
by Ralph Nader
He sat there dejected and indignant—twenty years ago—in our office. His position as editor of the monthly muckraking magazine, Mother Jones, had broken up. He was looking for a job that would allow him to bring his conscience to work. Continue reading
by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, June 28, 2007
On June 27, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal vied for attention with feature stories on oil giants ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips “walking away from their multi-billion-dollar investments in Venezuela” as the Journal put it or standing “Defiant in Venezuela” as the Times headlined. Both papers can barely contain their displeasure over Hugo Chavez wanting Venezuela to have majority ownership of its own assets and no longer let Big (foreign) Oil investors plunder them. Those days are over. State oil company PDVSA is now majority shareholder with a 78% interest in four Orinoco joint ventures. That’s up from previous stakes of from 30 to 49.9%. That’s how it should be, but it can’t stop the Journal and Times from whining about it. Continue reading
Thursday, June 28th, 2007
Democracy Now!
In New Expose, Ken Silverstein of Harpers Magazine Goes Undercover to Find Out What US Lobbyists Do for Dictators
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Ken Silverstein of Harper’s Magazine visited Washington’s top lobbying firms posing as a representative of a fictitious investment firm with a financial stake in Turkmenistan. He claimed that he was eager to bolster the image of a regime widely described as one of the most authoritarian in the world. Two prominent firms fell for the bait, promising unparalleled access to Washington’s decision makers and improved media coverage — for a fee of up to $1.2 million.
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Thursday, June 28th, 2007
Renowned Princeton Professor Cornel West Assesses the Democratic Presidential Field Continue reading
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
by Media Lens
The Myth Of Left-Leaning Media Bias
Mainstream media discussions of media balance are limited to a single question: Is the media too critical of powerful interests?
Earlier this month, the press described how an internal BBC report had revealed that the organisation was guilty of “institutional left-wing bias” and “being anti-American”. (‘Lambasting for the “trendy Left-wing bias” of BBC bosses,’ Daily Mail, June 18, 2007) Continue reading
by Arthur Silber
June 26, 2007
When last we visited Joshua Muravchik in November of 2006, we came to understand how wildly comedic advanced dementia could be. We learned that the neoconservatives are depised only because they are so beautiful and approach as close to perfection as is possible to imperfect Man. Their ideas are good and true, and universal in their applicability. Oh, the neoconservatives may have made a few mistakes, but such is life. And perhaps most importantly, we must:
BOMB IRAN! BOMB IRAN! BOMB IRAN!
Uncensored News Reports From Across The Middle East
This video contains images depicting the reality and horror of war and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
Selected Episode
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Jackie and Dunlap on switchin’ parties, squashin’ cardboard, and introducin’ Bloomberg.
Global Research, June 26, 2007
In 1937, the American Bar Association refused to allow people of color to join its ranks. With the blessing of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the National Lawyers Guild was founded as a multi-racial alternative to the ABA . The Guild’s founding members included the attorney general, several judges, some congressmen, and the head of the National Labor Relations Board. Continue reading
Unrestricted & Arbitrary Powers conferred to the President & Vice President
by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, June 27, 2007
In October 2006, Bush signed into law the Department of Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007.
DDAA 07 includes specific provisions which allow the military to take control of normal policy and law enforcement functions at the Federal and State levels. Continue reading
By ANDY WORTHINGTON
CounterPunch
June 22, 2007
Overlooked in the reports about Guantánamo detainee Abdullah bin Omar, a Tunisian who, on Sunday, was sent back to the country of his birth, where there are fears that he will be subjected to torture and abuse, is the story of the other Tunisian who, shackled and bound, shared a US plane with him. Unlike bin Omar, who was represented by lawyers who have done their best to publicize his case, there was no one to speak out for 38-year old Lofti Lagha, and no way of knowing if he too faces persecution on his return. Even his identity has so far remained concealed, revealed neither by the US nor the Tunisian authorities.In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, in June 2004, that the prisoners in Guantánamo had the right to challenge their detention in the US courts (a right that was taken away by Congress last October), around 200 detainees availed themselves of this hard-won opportunity, but for some reason–either because he did not trust American lawyers, or because he found no way of establishing contact–Lofti Lagha was not one of them. Like hundreds of other men in Guantánamo without legal representation, the only people he met for five and a half years who were not part of the US administration that imprisoned him without charge or trial were, on occasion, representatives of the Red Cross, and, almost certainly, representatives of the intelligence services of his home country–in his case, a secretive, repressive regime dominated, for 20 years, by the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
By Manila Ryce
Published Wednesday, June 27th, 2007, 7:12 pm
Jon Stewart delves into the secret role of Dick Cheney, and the great scholarly debate which has ensued about whether or not he is indeed part of the executive branch. Stewart questions why foxy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino is even answering questions about Cheney if he’s not part of the executive. John Oliver offers his insight into the nature of this indefinable entity. Continue reading
Police have open investigations on several thousands of myspace users. Listen carefully to what they say, watch it twice. The cop says anything illegal on your page, like a pot leaf, is enough to open an investigation against you. Once they confirm that you are the person you’re claiming to be in your profile, they can get a search or arrest warrant. The lawyer tries to sugar coat things, but listen carefully. What you post by itself isn’t always enough to convict you. But it’s enough to issue a warrant to convict you, get it. Myspace has a judge working full time in CA issuing warrants. If cops are undercover on myspace, then so is the FBI, CIA, ATF, DoD ect… Remember, one illegal or suspect photo is enough to start an investigation.
by Dr. Steven Jonas
June 27, 2007
George W. Bush!?! The Most Successful American President?!? “How can you, Steve Jonas, give him that appellation,” you might ask? “Awhile back didn’t you say that he was the ‘Worst American President?’ ” And I would say, “indeed I did, but one thing has nothing to do with the other. In fact, I began my TPJ column of Sept. 14, 2006 with the following text (edited slightly here):” Continue reading
Dandelion Salad 