Category Archives: RagBlog

We are in the midst of the second Iranian hostage crisis. This time the Iranians hold 150,000 or so US and UK troops and assorted cohorts hostage in Iraq. They are abetted in this enterprise by the non-reality based US … Continue reading →

‘Beginning of the end of America’Olbermann addresses the Military Commissions Act in a special commentSPECIAL COMMENTBy Keith Olbermann, Anchor, ‘Countdown’ MSNBC We have lived as if in a trance. We have lived as people in fear. And now—our rights and … Continue reading →

… compared to this. I didn’t know they made any drug this strong. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) Says That Being In Baghdad Is ‘Like Being In Manhattan’ On Feb. 9, 2006, House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-NY) spoke at … Continue reading →

What planet does this dumb rat bastard live on? “It is difficult, no question about it, but we’ve now got over 300,000 Iraqis trained and equipped as part of their security forces. They’ve had three national elections with higher turnout … Continue reading →

It was so long that Riverbend was offline that I was truly apprehensive that she’d been killed, arrested, imprisoned, kidnapped … I am grateful, after reading this young Iraqi woman for over three years, that she is alive. Now we … Continue reading →

This is a beautiful tune from Robert Cray, one of our all-time great blues musicians. The video is on a theme we can relate to — please go listen to it here. Here’s a snip from the American Friends Service … Continue reading →

Four U.S. soldiers accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old girl and slaying her sister and their parents will face courts-martial on murder charges, military officials say. Based on previous results in similar cases, they will probably be acquitted or … Continue reading →

Mariann told me there is poetry that goes with the photo, namely “this quote from Don Henley”: “Nobody on the road,nobody on the beach –You can feel it in the air –the summer’s out of reach…”

Judge Vacates Conviction of Ken Lay HOUSTON (Oct. 18) – A federal judge Tuesday vacated the conviction of Enron’s late founder Kenneth Lay, wiping out a jury’s verdict that he committed fraud and conspiracy in one of the biggest corporate … Continue reading →

Again, from Juan Cole, with our thanks. The End of Press Freedom in Iraq? Al-Zaman, the Times of Baghdad, reports [Ar.] that press freedom may soon be a thing of the past in Iraq. The Iraqi parliament on Monday passed … Continue reading →

“Bush called Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday to reassure him that it was not true that the US planned to dump him if he has not produced better results in two months. Bush hasn’t dumped Secretary of Defense Donald … Continue reading →