Al-Hayat writing in Arabic reports that the Shiite fundamentalist coalition, the National Iraqi Alliance, has conducted a vote and selected Adel Abdul Mahdi as the list’s candidate for the post of prime minister. Abdul Mahdi is the outgoing vice president of Iraq and is from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI). Four major parties […]
Collapse of Kabul Bank Points to Fatal Corruption of Karzai Government
I write in anger. Not blind rage, mind you. A cool, searing, steady anger. I think it is a righteous anger. It is not consequential, but it is my reality. I am angry about the 1,172 US troops dead in the Afghanistan War, and all the other brave NATO and Afghan soldiers who gave their […]
Dems Reluctant to Allow Taxes on Rich to Rise
AP says more Democrats are reluctant to allow taxes to rise on the rich. It is a matter of despair to me that the constituents of these Democrats don’t put their feet down on this issue. Allowing tax rates on the rich to go back to Reagan-era levels will not derail the economic recovery. What, […]
Jolie Appeals for Pakistan Aid as Flood Refugees Return
Angelina Jolie makes a plea for aid for flood-stricken Pakistan: Reuters reports on what returnees to flooded areas are finding when they arrive:
Shiite Procession Bombed in Lahore: 35 Dead, 250 Wounded
Three explosions hit Shiite processions in the old city of Lahore around 7 pm Wednesday, killing at least 35 persons and wounding about 250. The first explosion appears to have been a pre-set bomb, which went off near to the Karbala Gamay Shiite shrine. Two suicide bombers subsequently struck near Bhati Chowk. The attacks occurred […]
Obama hands Iraq to Iraqis, Sort of;
al-Maliki Declares Independence
Some wag observed of the camel that it is “an animal designed by a committee.” Likewise, the speech that President Obama gave on the end of the US direct combat mission in Iraq last night appeared to have been designed by a committee. Intended to please everyone, it likely altogether pleased no one. With regard […]
The Speech President Obama Should Give about the Iraq War (But Won’t)
Here is the speech that I wish President Obama would give about the Iraq War, but which neither he nor any other president ever will. Fellow Americans, and Iraqis who are watching this speech, I have come here this evening not to declare a victory or to mourn a defeat on the battlefield, but to […]
Afghanistan and Paris Hilton’s Purse
US mass media is owned by only five corporations, and all of them have decided that advertising dollars flow to celebrity gossip more than to hard news. I’ve had cable television news on in the background all early afternoon Monday, and no one has mentioned the word “Pakistan,” a major security partner of the United […]
Netanyahu Reneges on Freeze
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced his bad faith as he began the first direct talks between Israel and the Palestine Authority in 2 years, implying that he would call off the 8-month freeze on new settlements in the West Bank. His negotiating partner, President Mahmoud Abbas, had made cessation of new settlements a prerequisite […]
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