Slaughter House Iraq

Civil war is raging across central Iraq, home to a third of the country's 27 million people. As Shia and Sunni flee each other's neighbourhoods, Iraq is turning into a country of refugees. The US and British position in Iraq is far more of a house built on sand than is realised in Washington or London, despite the disasters of the past three-and-a-half years. George Bush and Tony Blair show a unique inability to learn from their mistakes, largely because they do not want to admit having committed any errors in the first place......more

US Hearts and Minds Cash Goes to Taleban

When United States troops in the southern province of Ghazni handed out cash to village elders, they must have thought they were winning friends. The money, intended for bridges, wells, drinking water, irrigation systems and other infrastructure projects, was supposed to convince the local Afghans that the foreign presence would benefit their country in general and themselves in particular. But the resources intended to combat Taleban influence ended up doing just the opposite. Local people in several parts of Andar district told IWPR that almost as soon as the coalition forces left their villages, the money found its way into Taleban coffers to finance the jihad against the foreigners......more

Howard Dean opens Liberal Party convention

As the Liberals struggle to regain their confidence and drive -- having lost to Harper's Conservatives in January after 12 years in power -- they've turned to a man from south of the border for inspiration. U.S. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean will open the convention.....more

Committee on Public Information

Also known as the CPI and the Creel Committy, was established under Woodrow Wilson as an independent agency by Executive order 2594, April 13, 1917.

Its purpose was to influence American public opinion toward supporting U.S. intervention in World War I via a vigorous propaganda campaign. Among those who participated in it were Wilson adviser Walter Lippmann and Edward Bernays, the latter of whom had remarked that "the essence of democratic society" was the "engineering of consent", by which propaganda was the necessary method for democracies to promote and garner support for policy. Many have commented that the CPI laid the groundwork for the public relations (PR) industry.......@Wikipedia

Stop The War! Bring The Troops Home!

Whistling Past Dixie

'How Democrats Can Win Without the South'

Democrats should forget about recapturing the South in the near term and begin building a national majority that ends, not begins, with restoring their lost southern glory. Most of the South is already beyond the Democrats' reach, and much of the rest continues to move steadily into the Republican column. White southerners used to be among the most economically liberal voters in America but are now among the most conservative.....more

The Civil War in Iraq

Miami

World Class City Where Diversity Is Celebrated

Colorado Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo calls Miami a `Third World country'. pointed to Miami as an example of how ''the nature of America can be changed by uncontrolled immigration.

''I invite my friend, Tom, to visit beautiful Miami, my hometown, and experience firsthand our hospitality,''...Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Tancredo didn't visit Miami on the Nov. 18-19 trip, but has visited before, a spokesman said. And, if Ros-Lehtinen's invitation includes ''a stay at a five-star beachfront resort, he may be willing to look beyond the inherent dangers that he had cited and visit Miami again,'' his spokesman said.....more

In a funk
Why is the nation's happiest party still so unhappy here at home?

Let's start in Hillsborough, where the Democratic Party continued to lose ground. How bad was Nov. 7 for local Democrats? The only local Dems on the ballot who won the county vote were Congresswoman-elect Kathy Castor, House candidates Mike Scionti and Betty Reed, Senate candidate Arthenia Joyner and Tampa City Council member Kevin White. All five ran in districts with wide Democratic registration margins and represent no great achievement for the party......more

Peace sign a symbol of Satan

A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan......more

9/11 was a Tuesday. FEMA got there on Monday night