Abdullah to Boycott Runoff as Talks Break Down

by Jason Ditz, AntiWar Amid reports that the ongoing election talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and runoff opponent Abdullah Abdullah have broken down, it is widely expected that Abdullah will announce a boycott of the election, perhaps as soon as this weekend.

Ron Paul’s Solution to the Healthcare Crisis in America? “Free Markets”…

This is primarily why I don’t support either Ron Paul, or his publicist, Alex Jones… all they are doing is steering naturally occurring dissent in this country toward support of the very thing that has caused the problems in the first place; free-market neoliberal ideology. They are both a perfect example of “controlled opposition” whereas you hijack [...]

Obama Administration Spinning up 911/Pakistan Connection for more war…

A passport bearing the name of Said Bahaji, a suspect linked to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, has been found in a town captured by the Pakistani military…Bahaji is alleged to have been a member of the Hamburg, Germany-based cell that provided money to the September 11 hijackers, who carried out [...]

Empire of Illusion: The Cult of Self

You need to go check out this video lecture from Chris Hedges. I would post it up here, but I can’t get the VodPod video to post on this WordPress blog. It’s a long lecture, 3 parts… but I have watched it all, and it is a must-see. Empire of Illusion: The Cult of Self [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston: Record AfPak Drone Attacks Under Obama May Violate International Law

(The entire Predator Drone program in the AfPak theater of operation is nothing more than a CIA/Blackwater run assassination campaign with absolutely no oversight whatsoever.) from Democracy Now interview  (full interview transcript after the break and follow the link to the DN video) The problem is that we have no real information on this program. What [...]

What are US troops dying for in Afghanistan?

by Bill Van Auken, WSWS At least 21 US soldiers and Marines have been killed in Afghanistan since last weekend, making October the bloodiest month for US forces since they invaded the country eight years ago. Still more have been wounded by roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Among those killed in the [...]

Fault Lines – 100 Days of Resistance – 15 Oct 09

Part 1 [see Part 2 after the break]

After the Billionaires Plundered Alabama Town, Troops Were Called in … Illegally

(I have been writing about this kind of Friedmanesque neo-liberal “free-market” transition for years now. This story, an important one, is the embodiment of everything I, and many others, have been saying. This story needs much more attention than it has received as of yet.) willy by Mark Ames, Alternet Editor’s Note: The shocking transfer [...]

Citizens Arrest, Disruption of Olmert in San Francisco

Mass disruption of former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert speaking in San Francisco from Information Clearinghouse

What You Didn’t Know About The War

from Kenny’s Sideshow “Since WWII, 90% of the casualties of war are unarmed civilians. A third of them children. Our victims have done nothing to us. From Palestine to Afghanistan to Iraq and Somalia to wherever our next target may be, their murders are not collateral damage, they are the nature of modern warfare. They do [...]

CIA Invests in Software Firm Monitoring Blogs, Twitter

Breaking news (?) on Democracy Now talks about the CIA using a blogging/social media monitoring/steering company, Visible Technologies (AKA Tru-Cast), to keep track of influential bloggers and the people who comment on the sites out there. I talked about this being used, what?, 6 months ago? But it’s a good interview with a guy from WIRED magazine… The full [...]

Goldstone challenges US over Gaza report

“The United States has criticised the Goldstone report into Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it one-sided. In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, Justice Richard Goldstone challenged the US government to justify its claims that his findings are flawed and biased.  Goldstone said the attacks on him have become personal and he believes most [...]

Wall Street Pay Cuts? White House Plan Has Loopholes

by Rich Blake, ABC News The details of the Obama administration’s efforts to curb excessive compensation on Wall Street emerged Thursday, with dual announcements from pay czar Kenneth Feinberg and the Federal Reserve Board. And while the potential loopholes do not appear large enough to drive the proverbial armored truck through, the securities industry is [...]

US bankers cash in despite phony pay restraint

by Patrick Martin, WSWS The executive pay regulations announced Thursday by the Obama administration’s “pay czar” and the Federal Reserve represent a cynical attempt to placate public outrage over Wall Street bonuses while allowing the financial speculators to continue awarding themselves multi-million-dollar compensation packages.

I’m Back

Just a quick note to say I am back up and running again. Will start up full time again tomorrow. I am having to set up the system now. Thank you all for putting up with this little hiccup.