President Obama for the first time addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, on the Gulf of Mexico oil volcano. The address came as scientists revised upward their estimate of how much petroleum is daily gushing into the Gulf, deciding it is between 35,000 and 60,000. Only 18,000 barrels a day is […]
Big Oil’s Predations are not Your Fault
No, the BP oil volcano in the Gulf of Mexico is not your fault, despite what many pundits will tell you. Back in the 1960s when the environmental movement got going, major US corporations responsible for much of the nation’s pollution decided to fight it by paying for television advertising that urged individuals not to […]
Meh story about $1 Trillion in Minerals in Afghanistan
The report that geologists have found $1 trillion in mineral wealth in Afghanistan is less important than it seems.. That Afghanistan has minerals is not in fact news. But none of the sort of research that would be necessary to place a value on them has been done, so no one actually knows what they […]
Palestinians Need a State: Loosening Blockade is not Enough
One problem with the focus the Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla is that it may make it appear that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is the central issue. Then any Israeli loosening of the blockade would seem to be an advance. In fact, the blockade is not the problem but is rather a […]
The Greens in Iran are a Movement, not a Coup
Small protests broke out around Iran on June 12, the anniversary of the 2009 presidential election, which protesters say was stolen by the country’s clerical Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on behalf of his favored candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Associated Press has video: What was the Green Movement? A debate rages among Iran-watchers. Partisans see it […]
Schumer’s Sippenhaftung and the Children of Gaza
“Gaza” is an abstraction to most Israelis, including [partisans of Israel like] Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. A majority of the 1.5 million Gazans is not even from Gaza, but rather is from what is now Israel. Americans do not know, and perhaps do not care, that 68% of Gazans are refugees living in […]
Dayan Calls for Assassination of Erdogan via Sinking of his Proposed Aid Ship
The former deputy general Chief of Staff of the Israeli military has called for a proposed aid ship to Gaza from Turkey to be sunk by the Israeli navy. Since the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pledged to be aboard the proposed vessel, Uzi Dayan, the nephew of Moshe Dayan, was implicitly calling for […]
One Hour of Video Released by Gaza Aid Worker
A full hour of raw video from the Mavi Marmara Gaza aid ship from before and during the brutal and illegal assault on it in international waters by Israeli commandos is now up at YouTube. It was shot by Brazilian passenger Iara Lee of culturesofresistance. org: I thought this comment at reddit.com useful.
Russia: Missiles not Covered by UN Weapons Ban on Iran
After wavering at first, Russian now maintains that the new round of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran do not forestall a sale by Moscow to Tehran of S-300 surface-to-air missiles, which are defensive in character. It is reassuring that the US State Department in the end agreed with Russia on this matter. If the […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved