Israeli Soldiers Say Army Rabbis Framed Gaza as Religious War
by Cliff Churgin
JERUSALEM -- Rabbis affiliated with the Israeli army urged troops heading into Gaza to reclaim what they said was God-given land and "get rid of the gentiles" - effectively turning the 22-day Israeli intervention into a religious war, according to the testimony of a soldier who fought in Gaza. |
G20 Protesters 'Will Try to Bring London to Standstill'
by Mark Hughes and Jerome Taylor
Police fear anti-capitalist groups will seek violent confrontation on streetsLONDON -- Next month's G20 summit will present an "unprecedented" challenge as up to 2,000 protesters attempt to bring London to a standstill, the Metropolitan Police admitted yesterday. |
The Great Shame
by Bob Herbert
I had a conversation several weeks ago with a former Army officer, a woman, who had been attacked in her bed a few years ago by a superior officer, a man, who was intent on raping her.The woman fought the man off with a fury. When she tried to press charges against him, she was told that she should let the matter drop because she hadn’t been hurt. When she persisted, battalion officials threatened to bring charges against her. |
Rage Redux: Changing Channels
by Gail Collins
Let’s discuss the George W. Bush presidential library.I am doing this as a public service. Our howling about government bailouts has sent Congress into a panic attack that’s getting out of hand. The White House economic team may not be all we hoped for, but let them work in peace for a few days without having to worry that some legislator in search of outrage creds is going to crash through the window and bite Tim Geithner on the ankle. |
Slime Time
by Jerome Doolittle
William McGurn has been variously employed as a writer for the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and George W. Bush, entitling him to the soft bigotry of low expectations. In today’s WSJ, he manages to clear the bar: By choosing Fort Bragg for her first official trip outside the capital last Thursday, Michelle Obama signaled that she will use her position as First Lady to promote one of America’s most deserving causes: our military families. Plainly the families loved it. Just look at the smiles on those children as she read them “The Cat in the Hat.” |
Will Congress Pass Ponzi Healthcare? Let’s Say 'No' in Des Moines
by Donna Smith
If you think the bonuses you are paying to AIG executives or the money flow from AIG bailout funds to foreign banks is shocking, wait until you get a load of what will be sold to you as healthcare reform. That is, unless we all actually call the hand right now and tell Congress we will hold them directly accountable should they set us up for healthcare collapse by funding huge healthcare insurance company CEO bonuses with our money. |
The Politics of the Populist Moment
by David Sirota
I appeared on ABC's World News Tonight and ABC's Nightline last night about the economic meltdown. You can watch the Nightline clip here.As I've written in my column and in my book, The Uprising, populism as a political force can drive policy in many different directions, and there is certainly a terrific opportunity for progressives to channel populism into transformative New Deal-style policies. But if Democrats cede the populist mantle to Republicans - if, for instance, political insiders in the White House keep implying that AIG bonuses are no big deal - we should expect the GOP to try to capitalize. |
Ban Political Contributions by Bailout Recipients and Bring Back Eliot Spitzer
by Brent Budowsky
Let's ban political contributions to any candidate, of any party, for any office by any company that receives bailout money, until the money is paid back in full. Taxpayer money should not be used to pay for political donations designed to influence how the taxpayer money is spent. It is ridiculous for political leaders to take political campaign donations with one hand while they hand out taxpayer dollars to the donors with the other. |
Pastor John Hagee's re-branding
by Bill Berkowitz
It may not be as fascinating, macabre or downright titillating as Michael Jackson's upcoming comeback tour, nor as carefully crafted, and all-consuming, as Richard Nixon's efforts to rehab his image with the public, nevertheless Pastor John Hagee's upcoming sojourn to the nation's capital is geared toward drawing crowds and headlines as well as providing a redemptive opportunity of a sort. While Jackson will be trying to moonwalk his way back into the hearts of his fans, Hagee's comeback revolves around re-stating his support for Israel while at the same time hoping that the mainstream media has forgotten about his outrageous remarks stating that God sent Hitler as a way of expediting the return of the Jews to Israel. |
