According to Seymour Hersh, the Bush Administration has gotten it through their heads that the American people aren't buying the "OMG they has the nukes" argument a second time around, and have shifted their strategy to surgical strikes on Revolutionary Guard facilities in Tehran and elsewhere. I guess that beats tactical nukes being lobbed all over the country, but it's still going to unleash a torrent of terror throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. Way to go, Cheney!
American forces might have had Osama Bin Laden pinned down in Tora Bora, again, and lost him, again. This could all be speculation and conjecture on the part of intelligence analysts, but...c'mon, America! You have the same guy cornered in the same place, and you lose him twice?
Ok, tactical nukes, which apparently have one-fifteenth the strength of the bombs at Hiroshima, and they'd be going deep underground and penetrating a bunker, not wiping out a civilian population. But JESUS H. CHRIST, NUKES?
What kind of world are we living in where this is even an option? If Iran is close to getting nuclear weapons, then clearly it is a threat to Israel. But....you better be absolutely sure of that before you start throwing nuclear weapons around, tactical or not. Setting the precedent of using a nuclear weapon is a slippery slope that'll make global warming look like a tea party.
Noted intellectual Douglas Rushkoff comes down squarely on the side of reason with a piece that explains that not only are 9/11 conspiracy theorists really reaching, they're also sapping vital dissent away from issues that matter. I have to agree... More...
Macleans knocks one out of the park with a story on how Bush has in effect, become Saddam by turning to his old henchmen now that America has run out of options. This week's issue also has a great cover,... More...
Well, that's certainly very reassuring.... More...
Naomi Klein, the author of "No Logo", has a new book out called "The Shock Doctrine" about how corporations take advantage of disasters for profit. In an interview with Salon she ties together Iraq, New Orleans post-Katrina, Sri Lanka after... More...
George Packer, who wrote the excellent Assassins Gate about the American occupation of Iraq has contributed an article to the current issue of the New Yorker examining just how the Americans are going to get out of Iraq, and what... More...
Simply put, it could unleash a torrent of terrorism throughout the Middle East and in the United States. Iran, China and Russia could also form an "Axis of Oil" and cut off vital supplies to the US. Salon tells all.... More...
It's currently fashionable amongst the bookish set to compare America to Rome. After all, both empires ran the world, both choked on their own hubris, and both have had madmen at the helm of government. But Gerard Baker of the... More...
I've just finished a book called "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler (he also has a blog of sorts) about what happens to North American society once the oil runs out. It ain't pretty, to put it mildly. The... More...
Another report on how Bush is readying to go to war with Iran. The depths of this guy's ignorance is truly frightening.... More...
In a rather ballsy bit of writing, Joyce Wadler of the New York Times criticizes the "I remember when..." war story nature of everyone's 9/11 memories. She's got a point, in that a terrible day has become a cultural touchstone... More...
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld both lend their thoughts to interviews in the is month's GQ, and what's interesting is that though Colin Powell apologizes for what he sees as lapses in... More...
Every empire has had to face an inevitable period of decline, and the United States is no different. An article in the LA Times details the choices the US has in front of it as it either adapts or fights... More...
A long analysis in the New York Times confirms what everyone already knows..adding troops to the boiling cauldron of violence known as Iraq produced small short term gains, but nothing of real substance.... More...
Rolling Stone has a huge expose on how private contractors cheated the taxpayer, risked the lives of soldiers, and made out like bandits after the invasion of Iraq.... More...
Osama Bin Laden has been sticking to audio pronouncements since the 2004 U.S. election, but apparently the sixth anniversary of 9/11 is grounds for a new video. From what little has been shown, he's dyed his beard and looks to... More...
Surprise surprise, the Veep's efforts to expand executive power are even more egregious than previously thought.... More...
Wired magazine has sent Noah Shachtman, their war blogger, off to Iraq for a feature on the new tactics and technologies being used in the war. Along the way, he's maintaining a diary/blog about reporting "in country", which can be... More...
The Times of London reports the Pentagon has drawn up a plan for a three day series of airstrikes designed to obliterate the Iranian military. Of course, coming up with such plans is par for the course for the Pentagon,... More...
While India's middle class is experiencing a short-term boom, without social reform and a long hard look at entrenched cultural bottlenecks, India's future growth may be in doubt. Prospect Magazine has all the details.... More...
Radar online has a triple play of power-broking villainy, with a feature on America's frenemies, the most powerful people you've never heard of, and the degenerate ways of British lords. Good stuff.... More...
Canada's favorite political funsters, the Rhino Party, are back and causing trouble once again. This time they're led by ex-Vancouverite, Terminal City honcho and gadabout Brian Salmi, who is challenging a law which requires 50 candidates at a cost of... More...
While all the attention is focused on emissions, high gas prices, climate change and wars over oil, coal is quietly retaking its former place as one of the dominant forms of energy production on the planet. And just like 200... More...
Six year after 9/11, the United States still hasn't found Osama Bin Laden or his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The reasons for this quandary are manifold, and are detailed in an excellent article in Newsweek.... More...
China's incredible growth spurt over the last decade has exacted a heavy price on the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, the will to improve things runs smack into the inability of the Communist Party to manage the situation properly.... More...
Noted atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins has a new show, "The Enemies of Reason," which aims to put the lie to the world of superstition and mysticism. Besides being a fine bit of documentary, it's also beautifully shot, presumably in... More...