How Bradley Manning passed on the classified material to WikiLeaks

An innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. The 1.6 gigabytes of text files ran to millions of words. Bradley Manning, 22, a former intelligence analyst is charged with […]

What TSA full body scanners, searches and patdowns are really all about

The TSA and all relevant officials tell us that they’re really for our own protection. But are they? In truth, the searches have virtually nothing to do with increased airport security. Several years ago, my four year-old daughter was pulled aside in one such screening because she happened to be the Nth person in the […]

Afghanistan: The US surpasses the Soviet record and model

As of last Friday, the U.S.-led coalition has been fighting in Afghanistan for as long as the Soviets did in their humbling attempt to build up a socialist state. It seems clear that a similar — or even grander — “prize” awaits us as the one with which the Soviets were rewarded. This decade of […]

$3 billion US bribe to Israel

The secret talks between US and Israeli officials, aimed at convincing the Israelis to change their position regarding the settlement freeze, started to smell more and more like a bribe, with some media reports calling it the $3 billion bribe. The amount is in reference to the cost of the 20 advanced US fighter planes […]

Next WikiLeaks release to highlight corruption among world leaders and governments

The Obama administration on Wednesday warned that the next release of documents from whistleblower Web site WikiLeaks could damage relations between the US and foreign governments. Now, a report from Reuters offers an explanation as to why that may be. According to “sources familiar with the State Department cables held by WikiLeaks,” the imminent document […]

Why give thanks on Thanksgiving?

With tougher economic times, something positive to focus on: If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, and in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace …you are […]

Corporate Profits the Highest on Record

The nation’s workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or noninflation-adjusted terms. [The New York Times]

US launches giant eavesdropping satellite

The United States has just placed in orbit a vast reconnaissance satellite reputed to be the largest eavesdropping device ever launched into space. The largest unmanned American launch vehicle, the Delta-4 Heavy rocket, roared into the night sky in Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the mysterious satellite on a mission dubbed NROL-32.

Afghanistan War ironies and uncertainties

Amazing as it sounds, NATO, the world’s most powerful military alliance, may be losing the only war the 61-year old pact every fought. All its soldiers, heavy bombers, tanks, helicopter gunships, armies of mercenaries, and electronic gear are being beaten by a bunch of lightly-armed Afghan farmers and mountain tribesmen. Why? Well, 10 years into […]

Medal of Honor to band of brothers fighting America’s senseless wars

An extraordinarily brave American, Spc. Salvatore Giunta of Hiawatha, Iowa, the first live American to win the Medal of Honor since the war in Vietnam, said this after his heroism was recognized in a battle far from Kandahar, in the Korengal Valley three years ago: “These people won’t leave this valley,” he said of the […]