US Politics
The specter of a police state
Bush administration considered using military to arrest “Lackawanna Six”
By Joe Kishore, July 27, 2009
Discussions over using the military to arrest six US citizens outside Buffalo, New York in 2002 were part of a concerted effort to expand presidential power and the domestic role of the Armed Forces.
Dozens arrested in New Jersey corruption probe
By Peter Daniels, July 27, 2009
A two-year federal investigation of political corruption concluded last week with the arrest of 44 individuals in the state of New Jersey.
US Vice President Biden visits Ukraine and Georgia
By Niall Green, July 23, 2009
US Vice President Biden visited the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia this week. Despite recent concessions in certain strategic areas, Biden’s tour is a warning to Moscow that Washingt...
Six months of the Obama administration
By Joe Kishore, July 21, 2009
Six months ago yesterday, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. It is an appropriate time to take stock of what has transpired.
US health care debate shaped by cost-cutting “efficiencies”
By Kate Randall, July 21, 2009
The Senate and House versions of health care reform both outline an overhaul of the system that would link provision of care to cost-cutting “efficiencies.”
Obama’s speech to the NAACP
By Tom Eley, July 18, 2009
The thrust of Obama’s speech before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Thursday was to blame working class African-Americans for the social crisis engulfing th...
Obama’s war
By Bill Van Auken, July 17, 2009
With Obama approaching the end of his sixth month in office, there are growing indications that Washington is in only the first stages of a major escalation of the Afghanistan war.
Sotomayor’s record: A judicial pragmatist and defender of corporate interests
By Don Knowland, July 17, 2009
As a nominee to the US Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor is reliable defender of corporate interests, siding with big business, government authority and the police far more than with the poor, the arrest...
Senate confirmation hearing
Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor appeases Republicans
By Patrick Martin, July 17, 2009
Several Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee went out of their way to praise Sotomayor’s testimony and jurisprudence.
Obama’s neocolonial mission in Africa
By Ann Talbot, July 16, 2009
Last week, President Barack Obama flew from the G8 summit in Italy to Accra, the capital of Ghana in West Africa, for his first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa since becoming president.
Obama tailors community college plan to corporate interests
By Jack Cody, July 16, 2009
Obama has unveiled a plan to provide $12 billion in funding to community colleges throughout the nation, made conditional on the development of programs directly tied to corporate interests.
Amidst investigation into “pay-to-play” scheme
Steven Rattner steps down from Obama auto task force
By Tom Eley, July 15, 2009
Steven Rattner, Obama’s appointee to chair the “auto task force” resigned suddenly on Tuesday, amidst intensifying investigations into a bribery case involving Rattner’s multi-billion dollar i...
