In this article, Charles Sullivan rightly defines America as a one-party state. Democrats? Republicans? Whatever. He calls them the Republicrats. Those who represent wealth and power [capitalism].

Therein lies the problem I have with the article. Sullivan proudly distinguishes himself from the mainstream by being a "progressive".

I distrust the word. It's meant to rally the vanguard, yet refuses to take issue with the fundamental ideology in America - concentrated capitalism. Progressives throw stones into the political lake. Radical leftists want to drain it, clear the silt, and refill with a contemorary socialism.

It's a mealy-mouthed word. As if they were frightened of disturbing suburbia. Too timid to use words like radical, left, socialist, cultural and political revolution

The article is still worth reading. At least, it's a step in the left direction. From acorns... Ed Strong   more »

One of the most significant events in 500 years of Latin American history will take place in Bolivia today when Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian, is inducted as president. People of indigenous origin have, on occasion, risen to the top in Latin America.

But Morales's overwhelming election victory took place on a tide of indigenous mobilisation that is especially powerful in Andean countries; elections in Peru and Ecuador this year might also bring success to indigenous movements.

The Rebellion of the Hanged is one of B Traven's novels of the Mexican jungle, written in 1936. In these stories the Indians turn slowly from rebellion to revolution, and something of that spirit infuses the new mood in Latin America.

The heirs to pre-Columbian civilisations have conquered their distrust of white "democracy" and are again moving to the front of the historical stage. They do so as one of Kondratiev's long economic waves has been sweeping through the continent like a tsunami.

The terrible impact of neoliberal economics is reminiscent of the slump of the 30s that brought revolution to many countries of Latin America.   more »

So why only on audio? Why no video tape? Is he sick? Yes, say the usual American "intelligence sources".

It's the same old story: Osama bin Laden talks to us from the mouth of a cave, from within a cave, from a basement perhaps, from a tape almost certainly recorded down a telephone line from far away.

Thursday's message, broadcast as ever by al-Jazeera television, was a reminder that security - not sickness - decides his method of communication.

We invaded Afghanistan to find Bin Laden and we fight and die in Iraq to kill his supporters - yet still he eludes us, still he threatens us, still he taunts us.

How much longer can this nonsense go on? President Jacques Chirac warns that France - of all countries - might use nuclear weapons, if attacked. On whom, I wonder?

America blows Pakistani children to pieces and claims it has killed five wanted men, including a bomb-maker. But there's absolutely no evidence. Bin Laden says that America will be attacked again unless it accepts a truce in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.   more »

"Anti-semitism" has now become the single most important element of Jewish identity. Jews may believe in God or not, eat pork or not, live in Israel or not, but they are all united by their unlimited belief in anti-semitism.

When a Palestinian kills innocent Israeli civilians, it's anti-semitism. When Palestinians attack soldiers of Israel's occupation army in their own village, it's anti-semitism.

When the UN General Assembly votes 133 to 4 condemning Israel's decision to murder the elected Palestinian leader, it means that except for the US, Micronesia and Marshal Islands, all other countries on the globe are anti-semitic.

Even when a pregnant Palestinian woman is stopped at an Israeli check-point and gives birth in open field, the only lesson to be learnt is that Ha'aretz journalist Gideon Levy – who reported two such cases in the past two weeks, one in which the baby died – is an anti-semite.

Anti-semitism is an all-encompassing explanation. Anything unpleasant to anti-Palestinian ears is just another instance of anti-semitism.

Jewish consciousness focused on anti-semitism has taken the shape of anti-semitic conspiracy theories, like that of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion: whereas the anti-semitic classic relates every calamity to Jewish conspiracy, Jews relate to anti-semitic conspiracy every criticism of Israel.   more »

I remember once squeezing into a Kabul bookshop that was little more than a cupboard in the wall with barely enough room for its elderly owner and one customer. From the packed shelves he offered me the memoirs of a 19th-century British officer. It had a chapter called The Cruelty of the Afghan.

Claiming "the Afghan imbibes a taste for violence with his mother's milk", the officer described being sent to rescue a small group of troops ambushed by Afghan fighters on a mountain road.

As he drew near, he saw the men were dead. The only Afghan in sight was a boy of about seven struggling to behead one of the corpses with a knife.

This was meant to be a story about Afghan cruelty, and the officer apparently saw no irony in recounting (I foolishly did not buy the book so my memory of the exact wording may be faulty):

"The busy little urchin did not apprehend my approach. I took him on the point of my bayonet and tossed him over the cliff."

It would be nice to think that this kind of barbarity was confined to the phase of imperial acquisition, or that what was politically correct in the 19th-century became unacceptable later.   more »

Scroll down for interview with William Blum. Also, download Is America a Rogue State? [PDF Format]

An unexpected endorsement from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has resulted in a huge jump in sales for a book by a critic of U.S. foreign policy.

William Blum's "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" was ranked 209,000 on Amazon.com's sales list before bin Laden mentioned it in an audiotape released on Thursday. By Friday, the book was No. 30 on the Amazon.com list.

Bin Laden said al Qaeda group was preparing more attacks in the United States but also told Americans, "It is useful for you to read the book 'The Rogue State.'"

"I was quite surprised and even shocked and amused when I found out what he'd said," Blum said on Friday in an interview with Reuters Television in his Washington apartment.

"I was glad. I knew it would help the book's sales and I was not bothered by who it was coming from.   more »

20 JANUARY

Confessions of an Armpit Hair Fetishist

Bin Laden: Master Progagandist

Bush Isn't a Liar...He's a True Believer

This Is the Age of Self-Righteous Certainty

Bin Laden Tape: Uncut, Uncensored Transcript

Paul Krugman Condemns Lobbyists Running Prescription Drug Program

Will The Neocon-Christian-Israeli Axis Push Bush into War on Iran?

Why Iraq Backfired on the Neocons