Category Archives: RagBlog

From the International Crisis Group Where Is Iraq Heading? Lessons from BasraMiddle East Report N°6725 June 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Amid the media and military focus on Baghdad, another major Iraqi city – Basra – is being overlooked. Yet Basra’s experience … Continue reading →

In Iraq, a Private Realm Of Intelligence-Gathering: Firm Extends U.S. Government’s ReachBy Steve Fainaru and Alec KleinWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, July 1, 2007; Page A01 BAGHDAD — On the first floor of a tan building inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, the … Continue reading →

Australia plans to withdraw troops from IraqReuters, Published: Sunday, July 01, 2007 SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister John Howard is secretly planning to begin withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February 2008, Australian media reported on Sunday. The Sunday … Continue reading →

Interesting to note this was on the CBS Web site “opinion” pages. And, of course, it’s important to remember that our “opinions” don’t count for much … Calls To Get Out Of Iraq Escalate: 77% In CBS News Poll Say … Continue reading →

Time Is Right for New Pentagon PapersBy Amy Goodman 06/30/07 “ICH” — – Of the Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Mike Gravel is probably the least well recognized. His dark-horse candidacy may be the butt of jokes on the late-night comedy … Continue reading →

Kick Out the Corporate Bastards: Toward a New Environmental MovementBy JEFFREY ST. CLAIR and JOSHUA FRANK The environmental movement is on life support. Some would say it is already dead. Even though climate change and Al Gore are fast becoming … Continue reading →

Up the Down Staircase: Fakery, Inflation and the Housing MarketBy ALAN FARAGO The British sitcom, “Upstairs Downstairs” was a comedy of manners, of the rich and their servants, which is come to think of it, how the Federal Reserve and … Continue reading →

From Informed Comment Bush Turns Iraq into Israel/Palestine; Gaffe endangers US Troops Bush said in a speech on Thursday that he hopes Iraq will be like Israel, a democracy that faces terrorist violence but manages to retain its democratic character: … Continue reading →

Two Models of Health Care Rationing: Sick and SickerBy Dr. SUSAN ROSENTHAL, M.D. Everyone knows that Canadians live longer and have lower infant mortality rates than Americans. In Sicko, Michael Moore suggests that a Canadian-style medical system would solve this … Continue reading →

Lessons from Katrina: How to Destroy an African American City in 33 StepsBy BILL QUIGLEY Step One. Delay. If there is one word that sums up the way to destroy an African-American city after a disaster, that word is DELAY. … Continue reading →

Imminent Crises: Threats and Opportunitiesby Noam ChomskyJune 27, 2007, Monthly Review Regrettably, there are all too many candidates that qualify as imminent and very serious crises. Several should be high on everyone’s agenda of concern, because they pose literal threats … Continue reading →

Pacific Northwest anti-war activists up the ante by blocking military shipments to Iraqby Linda AverillJune 25, 2007, socialism.com A new breed of struggle is flowering in the Northwest anti-war movement. Its aim: to stop public ports from being used for … Continue reading →