contributions

By Rick Kelly
In response to Tuesday’s attack on a US base in Mosul, the New York Times published an extraordinary front-page article yesterday, entitled “Fighting is the only option, Americans say.” The piece quoted a number of people who expressed their full support for the ongoing occupation, and presented their views as being representative of the US population as a whole.
While the article was presented as an objective characterization of the nation’s mood following the deaths of (…)

The editor of a UN survey of freedom and governance in Arab societies says the US has impeded its publication.
Nader Fergani said the US objected to sections of the document on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said it had been threatening to cut its contribution to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
A US spokesman denied that his country had asked for a postponement of publication. The UNDP said reports of threats to its funding were inaccurate.
But Mr (…)

In what may be their last hope of reclaiming an evaporated lead in the Washington governor’s race before turning to the courts, Republicans have asked county auditors statewide to reconsider ballots that were rejected on Election Day.
With the counting and re-counting finally exhausted Thursday, Democrat Christine Gregoire emerged as the victor by a mere 130 votes. The final tally: 1,373,171 votes for Gregoire; 1,373,041 for Republican Dino Rossi.
But Republicans have vowed to leave no (…)

The United States invaded Iraq without a formal plan for occupying and stabilizing the country and this continues to undercut the military effort there, the Washington Post on Saturday quoted a U.S. Army historian as saying.
The newspaper quoted Maj. Isaiah Wilson, an official historian of the Iraq campaign, as saying the overall performance of the U.S. Army in Iraq has been "mediocre" and it failed to recognize it is engaged in a "people’s war."
As a result, the United States is (…)

by Leslie Sheridan
Dear Fellow Humans:
At this time of year, more than any other, we are reminded of some of the better characteristics associated with being human: acceptance, charity, compassion, love, selflessness, etc. This year, we have been especially reminded of “morality” and “family values.” However, “morality” and “family values” it seems, have been hijacked from what I remember them being as a kid.
Webster’s defines “moral” as: ethical, right behavior, sanctioned or (…)

By Fadil al-Badrani
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis reacted with anger, frustration and resentment Friday after many returned to Falluja to discover their homes in rubble and their livelihoods ruined following last month’s U.S. offensive.
"I saw the city and al-Andalus destroyed," said Ali Mahmood, 35, referring to the district of the city he returned to briefly Thursday but now plans to leave after seeing the mess.
"My house is completely destroyed. There is nothing left for me to (…)

Two influential thinktanks have roundly criticised US strategy in Iraq.
The Wasington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIC) said on Wednesday that the US is facing increasingly deadly attacks in Iraq because it has failed to honestly assess facts on the ground.
And in a report published on the same day, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said Iraqi hostility towards the US-led "occupation" means that Washington can no longer achieve its pre-war goals. (…)

by Joy
An "Extraordinary" Assembly of the European Social Forum (ESF) took place in Paris, on 18-19 December 2004. Over 300 people from social movements, trade unions and political parties from at least 16 countries participated in the weekend. Whatever hopes might have been entertained for this meeting, in no sense was it extraordinary, either in its procedure or in its results. In fact, it went in exactly the same way as all the other ESF preparatory meetings - undemocratically - and (…)

by Monica Benderman
I am writing to you because you have been elected to serve the people. I am one of those people, my family is one family in America. We are just a family, we care about each other, we work hard and we believe in good things. We have a modest income, not much, but enough to give us what we need. Like most American families, we struggle with the way things are these days. We try to justify that our votes have mattered, our voices are heard, our opinions count, all the (…)

by John Kalmus
I wonder what anyone else out there thinks about using general strikes in the U.S. as one way of many to end the utter insanity of the current administration in Washington D.C. Where do I begin listing the lives and liberties damaged and lost, the care for children and adolescents with disabilities’ lack of receiving medical and educational services, the sacred legal system we have used for centuries overturned, or the attacks perpetrated on U.S. people of color, (…)