By Sam Smith - Progressive Review | Since there is so much bad financial news these days, we thought this might cheer you up. The drug business is doing extremely well, thanks in large part to years of de facto subsidy by the perversely misnamed "war on drugs." A recent CNN report said the Coast Guard had seized $4.7 billion worth of cocaine last year. That's only the amount the Coast ...

Visit the Conference Web Site http://war-crimes.info  A conference on plans to bring high-level American war criminals to justice will be streamed live from Andover, Mass., September 13-14. The conference has attracted eminent national and international legal authorities who will speak about the legal grounds for seeking prosecution of top administration officials, including George Bush, who appear to be guilty of war crimes. The URL address to view the conference live or to ...

London Progressive Journal | The American education company Kaplan has announced plans to open a profit seeking university in the UK. Although only a small beginning, this opens the way to a profit-driven higher education system. The first move was the government’s, who recently relaxed laws on who can award degrees. They are in effect trying to open up the concept of a degree ...

By David Swanson | Remarks on September 14, 2008, at Justice Robert Jackson Conference on Planning for the Prosecution of High Level American War Criminals, Andover, Massachusetts. I want to thank Dean Lawrence Velvel and also Sherwood Ross and Jeff Demers for putting this event together. These remarks are posted at the top of AfterDowningStreet.org in a version that has links to materials and action pages that I reference. So you ...

In a landmark election season hailed as historic for the inclusion of an African American and a woman as official party candidates, scarce discussion has arisen over the future of the Supreme Court. Undoubtedly, a crucial consequence of this election is a potentially radical alteration of the ideological identity of the Court. One which will possess the power to drastically alter the legal framework of this nation in regards ...

WSWS | The US government takeover of the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has dealt a shattering blow to the ideology of market capitalism, which has been used for decades to justify a relentless assault on the working class and a vast transfer of wealth to the American ruling elite. The endless invocations of the virtues of private enterprise, individual entrepreneurship and self-reliance, used to demonize socialism and ...

Asia Times | The United States government has imposed new sanctions on Iran, this time targeting its shipping industry, by blacklisting the main shipping line and 18 subsidiaries, accusing the maritime carrier of being engaged in contraband nuclear material, a charge vehemently denied by Iran. While the economic impact of the measures against Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) will be minimal in light of the near absence of any ...

The Progressive | America must move from the errant, retributive justice of 9/11 to a healing, restorative process of truth and reconciliation. Before the Congress adjourns, I will bring forth a new proposal for the establishment of a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, which will have the power to compel testimony and gather official documents to reveal to the American people not only the underlying deception which has divided us, ...

When the British National Party told its members in January that it had raised £70,000 as a result of its “Building to Grow” appeal, Searchlight was sceptical. After all, the appeal was launched just as the internal crisis erupted last December. Who in their right mind, we thought, would donate such sums to a party that seemed about to collapse. We were wrong. A printout of transactions on the BNP’s main ...

By David Michaels | It happens almost every time. When a study is published linking a workplace chemical to serious disease, a scientist working for the industry disputes the findings. David Michaels, author of 'Doubt is their product', exposes industry’s dangerous tactics to protect its toxic favourites. This strategy of “manufacturing scientific uncertainty” comes directly from the tobacco industry’s playbook. In fact, many of the same scientists who manufactured doubt for ...

NOAM CHOMSKY | Aghast at the atrocities committed by US forces invading the Philippines, and the rhetorical flights about liberation and noble intent that routinely accompany crimes of state, Mark Twain threw up his hands at his inability to wield his formidable weapon of satire. The immediate object of his frustration was the renowned General Funston. “No satire of Funston could reach perfection,” Twain lamented, “because Funston occupies that summit ...

By Bruce Schneier | On 60 Minutes, in an interview with Scott Pelley, reporter Bob Woodward claimed that the U.S. military has a new secret technique that's so revolutionary, it's on par with the tank and the airplane: Woodward: This is very sensitive and very top secret, but there are secret operational capabilities that have been developed by the military to locate, target, and kill leaders of al Qaeda in ...

What will British foreign secretary David Miliband say in his speech to Labour's annual conference in Manchester? It's all too predictable. 'We' are 'winning' in Iraq, making 'progress' in Afghanistan, defending 'democracy' in Georgia, confronting Iran to protect world 'security' and waging endless war against 'global terrorism'. 'We' stand "shoulder to shoulder" with George Bush and whoever his successor may be in following slavishly wherever US foreign policy takes 'us'. There ...

Britain's premier parapolitical investigative magazine has landed at RINF. Notes from the Borderland (NFB) is a magazine like no other and covers many topics the mainstream media dare not print. The head-on approach from the NFB team leaves no stone unturned, making sure you get the facts - and all the facts. It is meticulously researched, encouraging readers to investigate articles for themselves and provides extensive footnotes. The NFB team states: "In a shallow age where many TV programmes ...

It happens almost every time. When a study is published linking a workplace chemical to serious disease, a scientist working for the industry disputes the findings. David Michaels, author of ‘Doubt is their product’, exposes industry’s dangerous tactics to protect its toxic favourites. By David Michaels | This strategy of “manufacturing scientific uncertainty” comes directly from the tobacco industry’s playbook. In fact, many of the same scientists who manufactured doubt ...