Time to clip the wings of Vulture Funds

Investigative reporting by Greg Palast, broadcast on the BBC and Democracy Now, has exposed the vulture funds, defined by the International Monetary Fund as companies that buy up the debt of poor nations on the cheap when it is about to be written off and then sue for the full debt plus interest, often pocketing 10 times what they paid for it......more

Zambia at a glance

Open Letters to George W. Bush
From his ardent admirer Belacqua Jones....here

The Wit and Wisdom of Belacqua Jones

Central Command in Florida and targets inside Iran

It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres. That list includes Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Facilities at Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list.....more

I Hope They Get It

"We can't get fooled again"

Your mission for the day is to look at these images of a beautiful, progressive and creative country and its generally moderate people and guess who they are........here

Mrs. Clintons Roadmap Out of Iraq

A Rarity for Faux News: Real Journalism

Bush's inevitable showdown

Chosen to pretend that in failing it has succeeded

It is impossible to guess the consequences of the approaching showdown between the US and Iran. But if the events of the past week are any guide, the future does not look promising. Today positive and negative indicators regarding the nature and outcome of a US confrontation with Iran run together and so forecasting the likely form and outcome of the contest is all but impossible......more

Dear Americans, We Are So Confused ...

The fundamental problem for America and its allies in Iraq is not Iranian interference, it is incoherent US foreign policy in the Middle East. If you think this is just opinion, try comprehending US-Middle East relations......more

Dispatch From the Mexican Border

Why the security fence will never be built

Ever since October 2006, when President George W. Bush signed a bill authorizing the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico, top-ranking Latin American politicians have denounced the plan, calling it unnecessary, offensive, and, in the words of former Mexican President Vicente Fox, "deplorable.".......more

Video: Al-Qaeda Martyrdom Training

Faux News Self-Parody

The premiere tomorrow opens with Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter in a skit set in January 2009. Mr. Limbaugh is the newly elected commander in chief, and he tells his fellow Americans that his Democratic opponent, Howard Dean, is “finally getting the medical attention he has so desperately needed for so long,” which is a strange joke for Mr. Limbaugh to make, given his history of pain killers and prescription fraud.

Growing a Blue Brain in Switzerland

A network of artificial nerves is growing in a Swiss supercomputer -- meant to simulate a natural brain, cell-for-cell. The researchers at work on "Blue Brain" promise new insights into the sources of human consciousness.......more

Democrats Say No Surge

"The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success,"........Nancy Pelosi

The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's plan to deploy more troops to Iraq on Friday, opening an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war that has taken the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.......more

Country Music Superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

Al Gores "Live Earth Concerts"

Al Gore announced on Thursday a series of worldwide concerts to focus on the threat of climate change with a powerhouse lineup from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi. The concerts on seven continents will bring newfound publicity to Gore, who already is enjoying celebrity status with his Oscar-nominated documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth.....more

Best Of Right Wing Howler:
Typical Liberals

It’s simple, really. Democrats and liberals, for the most part, are at the bottom end of the economic scale. They collect welfare, collect food stamps, and have a mentality that says, “I want you to GIVE me whatever I need.” So is it any surprise they will not buy into the advertising nor buy the books Kos sells? They want it given to them. They just want a place where they can smoke their dope, wear their patchouli, dress in their Birkenstocks and protest the fact no one gives them what they want?......more

In Dixie Chicks Land, A Stand

Those who destroy CDs or books out of spite, and stir up such campaigns...well, I suppose that's free speech, too. But by the way, would that angry reaction to those who voice their dislike of presidents also apply, say, to Rush Limbaugh and his oft-expressed views on President Bill Clinton? Or is that different?......more