GOP Judge Gives Bush a Gitmo Victory

By Robert Parry
December 31, 2008

Civil libertarians hailed last June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring habeas corpus hearings to justify indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, but there remained the question of which federal judges would hear the evidence. It was clear that many would be right-wing Republican appointees.

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How Hypocrisy on ‘Terrorism’ Kills

By Robert Parry
December 30, 2008

Israel, a nation that was born out of Zionist terrorism, has launched massive airstrikes against targets in Gaza using high-tech weapons produced by the United States, a country that often has aided and abetted terrorism by its client military forces, such as Chile’s Operation Condor and the Nicaraguan contras, and even today harbors right-wing Cuban terrorists implicated in blowing up a civilian airliner.

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Henry Kissinger: Eminence Noire

By Robert Parry
December 28, 2008

The recent release of 40-year-old tape recordings of President Lyndon Johnson complaining about “treason” by Richard Nixon’s campaign for sabotaging Vietnam peace talks in 1968 also reflects darkly on one of Washington’s enduring Wise Men, a person whose views are still sought and respected: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

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The Dilemma That Is Gaza

By Morgan Strong
December 27, 2008 (Republished in view of new Israeli bombing raids)

Gaza was and is an anomaly, a piece of land left over from the calamity of history, created it seems in a moment of distraction.

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Two Dangerous Bush-Cheney Myths

By Robert Parry
December 26, 2008

As George W. Bush and Dick Cheney make their case for some positive legacy from the past eight years, two arguments are playing key roles: the notion that torturing terror suspects saved American lives and the belief that Bush’s Iraq troop “surge” transformed a disaster into something close to “victory.”

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Washington Needs a Makeover

By Robert Parry
December 24, 2008

In four weeks, the long national nightmare of George W. Bush’s presidency will come to an end, but the big question then will be whether much will change – even with a solid Democratic majority in Congress and the nation’s first African-American President in the White House.

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‘Gran Torino’: Clint Eastwood in Winter

By Lisa Pease
December 24, 2008

Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this amazing film. Fresh and original, hilarious and heart-rending, this film will seize a hold of your heart and not let go. And if you enjoy snappy dialog, consider “Gran Torino” this year’s “Juno.”

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‘Australia’ Makes Worthy Apology

By Lisa Pease
December 22, 2008

Baz Luhrmann, the creative force behind “Moulin Rouge” and “Strictly Ballroom,” has written and directed an epic valentine to 1940s-style films with his latest effort, “Australia.”

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Democrats Need Their Own Cheney

By Brent Budowsky
December 23, 2008

Dick Cheney is what Margaret Thatcher called a conviction politician. Yes, with some luck, that may become a play on words, since I believe torture and warrantless eavesdropping violate the law – and the Vice President has proudly announced his role in those decisions by the Bush administration.

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Cheney Defends Waterboarding Order

By Jason Leopold
December 23, 2008

Vice President Dick Cheney, in another stunning admission during his campaign to burnish the Bush administration’s legacy, said he personally authorized the “enhanced interrogations” of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.

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