The pronounced rightward drift of the American “mainstream” political and ideological spectrum is on vivid display as we begin to approach the climax of the latest corporate-crafted quadrennial presidential election extravaganza.Listen to the latest dominant media theme on the Barack Obama campaign. From the network news and talk shows to the pages of the leading U.S. newspapers, the corporate news and commentary authorities are abuzz with the story of Obama’s move from “the left” to “the center.”Obama-article
Like many other foreigners, we arrived in Japan holding stereotypes of Japan as a prosperous country, not one where tens of thousands of people live in the streets. Surprised by the level of visible poverty and homelessness we saw, we realized our assumptions were wrong. The next question was how to write about the issues of homelessness and displacement with relation to the policies of the G8 and international financial institutions. Last night the answer to this question appeared.
Under the bright-as-day glow of bustling Shibuya Square, we had the honor of meeting organizers from Miyashita Park. Used for a wide range of activities by the community and activists during the day, Miyashita Park is home to dozens of people by night. But change is on the horizon for the park: it has been sold by the municipality to Nike.
Truly exciting and historic moments have been fabricated around US presidential campaigns for as long as I can recall, generating what can only be described as bullshit on a grand scale. Race, gender, appearance, body language, rictal spouses and offspring, even bursts of tragic grandeur, are all subsumed by marketing and “image-making”, now magnified by “virtual” technology. Thanks to an undemocratic electoral college system (or, in Bush’s case, tampered voting machines) only those who both control and obey the system can win.
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq’s position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.Iraq-Story
It was widely felt that the 2006 election was a vote against the Iraq war, but the victorious Democrats failed to make any significant moves toward stopping the war or even halting, let alone reversing, Bush’s attacks on constitutional government, and they have left the lame duck and discredited Decider in charge with a steady flow of additional funds to escalate the Iraq war. lunacy-article
On May 7, Dunkin’ Donuts began running an ad on its Web site and others, featuring the celebrity chef Rachael Ray holding a cup of the company’s iced coffee while wearing a black-and-white fringed scarf.
On May 23, the conservative blog Little Green Footballs posted an item that said that the ads “casually promote the symbol of Palestinian terrorism and the intifada, the keffiyeh, via Rachael Ray.”
Facing the possibility of a boycott of its products, the luxury company said on Thursday that it had dropped the American actress Sharon Stone from its advertising in China after she suggested last week that the recent earthquakes in Sichuan Province were karmic retribution for Beijing’s treatment of Tibet.
“History appears poised to confirm what most Americans today have decided: that the decision to invade Iraq was a serious strategic blunder. No one, including me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from now when we can more fully understand its impact. What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary.” read the story