Updating Yassin Aref's Struggle for Justice - by Stephen LendmanYassin Aref is an Iraqi Kurd and political prisoner in Police State America. A full account of his ordeal can be found at the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2008/03/yassin-arefs-struggle-for-justice-in.html.In the post-9/11 climate of fear, Aref was targeted for his faith and ethnicity and victimized by a willful FBI... Continue Reading →

Disturbing 2008 Global Peace Index Report - by Stephen LendmanThe Global Peace Index (GPI) was launched in May 2007 and claims to be the first study of its kind ranking nations according to their peacefulness. Last year's report covered 121 countries. The latest increased it to 140. Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea conceived the idea and... Continue Reading →

Plan Colombia Heads for Mexico - Stephen LendmanIt's called "Plan Mexico," or more formally the "Merida Initiative," and here's the scheme. It's to do for Mexicans what Plan Colombia has done to that nation since 1999, and, in fact, much earlier. Since then, billions have gone for the following:-- to establish a US military foothold... Continue Reading →

"Immoral Hazard" - by Stephen LendmanSo says Jeremy Grantham, co-founder of Boston-based investment firm Grantham, Mayo and Van Otterloo, now known as GMO. Some call him the philosopher king of Wall Street because of his highly insightful views on markets and the economy, usually with a longer-term perspective. In a profession of touts, fast-buck and... Continue Reading →

Spinning the News - The FARC-EP Files, Venezuela and Interpol - by Stephen LendmanFirst some background. On March 1, the Colombian military (with US Special Forces help) illegally attacked a FARC-EP rebel camp inside Ecuador. US satellite telephone tracking located the site. Washington signed off on the mission. Over 20 people were killed, including 16... Continue Reading →

Grow Them Young, Pay Them Well - Anti-Chavistas, That Is - by Stephen LendmanWho said crime doesn't pay? Read on.The Washington-based Cato Institute is all about "Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace," or so says its web site. It's been around since 1977 preaching limited government and free market religion with plenty of high-octane corporate... Continue Reading →

Frances Fox Piven's "Challenging Authority" - by Stephen LendmanFrances Fox Piven is a Canadian-born Professor of Political Science and Sociology at The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). Her career is long and distinguished. She's the recipient of numerous awards, has combined scholarship with activism, and is the author of many important books.... Continue Reading →

Disturbing Stirrings - Ratcheting Up For War on Iran - by Stephen LendmanLed by Dick Cheney, Bush administration neocons want war on Iran. So does the Israeli Lobby, but it doesn't mean they'll get it. Powerful forces in Washington and the Pentagon are opposed and so far have prevailed. Nonetheless, worrisome recent events increase the... Continue Reading →

Ramzy Baroud's "The Second Palestinian Intifada" - by Stephen LendmanRamzy Baroud is a veteran Palestinian-American journalist and former Al-Jazeera producer. He also taught Mass Communication at Australia's Curtin University of Technology and is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Palestine Chronicle, a vital resource for information on Israel/Palestine and much more.Baroud is an international media... Continue Reading →

Sixty Years of Palestinian Displacement, Occupation and Suffering - by Stephen LendmanOn May 14, Israelis will commemorate the 60th anniversary of their "War of Independence" and founding of the Jewish State. It also marks 60 years of Palestinian Nakba suffering. The web site alnakba.org recounts the history:-- from the late Ottoman empire period; to --... Continue Reading →