Her combination of ambition and attraction is key to her website's success. She does not pay any of her contributors, and yet, on any given day, the site will feature blogs from A-list celebrities (Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, John Cusack), members of Congress, established commentators, political consultants, and people nobody but Huffington has heard of.

All are writing for free, with each and every post embellishing the Huffington banner. "Some of the people don't need to write for the money, like Larry David or Nora Ephron," says Huffington.

"But people know when they write for us that people are going to read it, so they know they are going to contribute to the national conversation. It is like an audition where you can be heard, and get book contracts, or even recording contracts."

And it is doing so well that she is now conceivably within reach of that ultimate celebrity accolade: becoming a brand name. Oprah, Martha Stewart - why not Arianna? And why not try to heal the collective psyche of post-9/11 American womanhood?   more »

Let's be clear. This has nothing to do with a threat to America. Even by the most generous of interpretations of administration-hyped "evidence" about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons development efforts, Iran could not have a nuclear weapon for four years or more, with some estimates saying ten to 15 years. That's plenty of time to mount a successful diplomatic campaign to block it.

No, incredibly this is all about a domestic election. To put the matter bluntly, we have a president who is willing to put tens of thousands of American soldiers' lives at risk, and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iranian lives at risk, simply to avoid having the Congress fall into the hands of the Democratic Party.

Why would Bush be willing to do such a thing, against the advice of his generals, against the wishes of the American people, and against all logic and decency?

Clearly he is afraid--afraid that a Democratic Congress will finally start calling him to account for his accumulated crimes against the nation and the American People.

That's why he is desperately trying to get the Republican-led Congress--while it still can--to pass legislation retroactively exonerating him and his subordinates for their criminal violations of law and Constitution.   more »

The Iraq war has acted as a "recruiting sergeant" for radicals in the Muslim world, according to a paper prepared for a Ministry of Defence thinktank, which also said the British government sent troops into Afghanistan "with its eyes closed".

The paper, which describes the west as being "in a fix" and includes a savage attack on Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, was written by an officer attached to the Defence Academy, according to BBC2's Newsnight programme.

Its release provoked a furious response from the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, who has been touring the US.

The MoD was quick to play down the significance of the report. However, the study reflects what the MoD, military commanders, and the Foreign Office, have been saying in private.

What is embarrassing is the timing of the leak, a day after Tony Blair's defence of Britain's military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. The research paper blamed the ISI for indirectly supporting terrorism and extremism.   more »

Despite the Bush-bravado that is again on display as American Senate/Congress elections approach, for every swaggering statement he makes nowadays, half a dozen other statements are made not just by individuals and institutions opposed to the Republican White House but by people who run it in one capacity or the other.

Statements that contradict the swagger and begin to register some hometruths. The top-secret assessment of the Marines’ Chief of Intelligence runs thus:

"The prospects for securing that country’s western Anbar province are dim and (that) there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there”

Remember the goal of victory in Iraq? Savour this: “U.S. officials acknowledge their main goal in Iraq now is to prevent it from turning into a place run by fundamentalists who export terrorism to the region”

To cut a long story short, these are the facts: America has not only lost the war in Iraq but achieved the magnificent result of anointing Iran as its political guru and guardian! The neocon imperialists do not seem to succeed even in the alternate and nefarious purpose of fragmenting Iraq into three convenient regions.   more »

Government figures released on Monday show that gasoline prices in the United States continued their sharp decline last week. Over the past six weeks, the average price of gas has fallen 66 cents, from over $3 a gallon, to $2.38.

And the November mid-term elections are just under six weeks away.

The connection between these two circumstances is obvious. Certainly this is the view of a substantial section of the American population—42 percent of which, according to a new Gallop poll, believe that the Bush administration has deliberately manipulated the price of gasoline to improve the chances of the Republican Party in the coming elections.

In investigating the forces behind the very rapid decline in prices, the first question to ask is, “Who benefits?”

An article in the September 24 edition of the New York Times (“With Prices Falling, Gas May Lose Its Electoral Punch” by Danny Hakim) quoted Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, as stating:

“Virtually every newspaper in America is reporting on their front page that gas prices are plummeting. That denies Democrats another issue that they’re trying to use to nationalize the election.”   more »