Iran Shows Its CardsCampaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 18 Jul 2008Summary: Iranian missileOnly an irrational person or organization could continue to discuss as viable a military strike against Iran. Sadly, based upon past and current policy articulations, neither AIPAC nor the Bush administration can be considered rational when it comes to the issue of Iran. It is up to the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to inject a modicum of sanity into a situation that continues to be in danger of spinning out of control. source: Truth Digread more
Flexibility points to Iran breakthroughCampaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 18 Jul 2008Summary: The United States’ decision to set aside its previous preconditions for direct negotiation with Iran by taking part in multilateral diplomacy involving Tehran in Geneva at the weekend is a long overdue and welcome step forward. It could culminate in a significant breakthrough in the stalled relations between the countries should both sides take advantage of the moment and build on the momentum generated toward civility in their hitherto confrontational approach. source: Asia Times Onlineread more
A reality check on IranCampaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 18 Jul 2008Summary: For those hardliners who want to overthrow the Iranian government, not cooperate with it, these are unsettling moves. And a new monograph by the RAND Corporation, a prominent US think-tank which has long produced reports on various national security issues for the US Air Force, will likely only worsen their mood. source: Asia Times Onlineread more
The Dark Side: Jane Mayer on the Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American IdealsDemocracy Now - 18 Jul 2008We spend the hour with New Yorker magazine investigative journalist Jane Mayer about her new book, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. In the book, Mayer reveals a secret report by the International Red Cross warned the Bush administration last year that the CIA?s treatment of prisoners categorically constituted torture and could make Bush administration officials who approved the torture methods guilty of war crimes. Mayer also reveals that the Bush administration ignored warnings from the CIA six years ago that up to a third of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may have been imprisoned by mistake. [includes rush transcript – partial]
Headlines for July 18, 2008Democracy Now - 18 Jul 2008Court Rejects Delay to 1st Gitmo Military Trial, Ashcroft Questioned on Approving Torture, Probe Finds Widespread Abuse at Chicago Prison, Shoddy Contractor Work Blamed for Spike of Electrocutions in Iraq, Prosecutors Drop Probe of Iraq Reconstruction IG, Group: US Aid to Africa Increasingly Militarized, Gore Calls for Ending Carbon Reliance in Favor of Renewable Sources, McCain Can?t Recall Making Rape Joke, Obama Leaves for Mideast, Europe Trip, Judge Upholds Restrictions on Antiwar March at GOP Convention, Nelson Mandela Celebrates 90th Birthday, White House Threatens Veto on Banning Contractors from CIA Interrogations
Photostory: A culture of survival amidst a ravaged geographyElectronic Intifada - 18 Jul 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rFor most Americans, Palestine does not exist. Yet it is present enough to be seen as a faceless enemy. A dangerous and unwelcoming land, a breeding ground for fundamentalist Islam, teeming with angry anti-American Jihadists, Palestine is, in the American imagination, a ravaged landscape devoid of culture and joy. Umayyah Cable’s photographs tell a different story of Palestine.
