South Africa: The Downside of Banning Mercenaries

"South Africa's sweeping legislation to outlaw mercenary activities might also hamper the country's peacekeeping efforts and affect non-governmental and aid organisations while targeting private military/security companies (PMCs)."The South Africa legislation is very...

Asian markets face turbulence in 2008: ratings agency

""2008 will be a more difficult year for stock market returns and we would not rule out the risk of a sharp correction," Lorraine Tan was quoted by AFP as saying in a statement accompanying a report by the agency's equity research unit. Asian equity markets had reached...

Sly Stone's Higher Power

"Sly Stone on his custom three-wheeled chopper, outside his home, in Napa, California, on June 10, 2007. Sly Stone on his custom three-wheeled chopper, outside his home, in Napa, California, on June 10, 2007. Photograph by Mark Seliger. Sly Stone's Higher Power Sly Stone...

The Wacky World of Norman Podhoretz: Where there's always another world war b...

"People tend to stay fixated on the best time of their lives, and in the case of the neocons, that was undoubtedly the Cold War era. It is therefore no surprise that, with the coming of the "war on terrorism," they have likened the enemy, as Norman Podhoretz puts it in his...

A Democratic Sellout on Bush's Mercenaires by Jeremy Scahill and Tom Engelhar...

"Let's be clear about what it is – when it comes to "withdrawal" from Iraq – that the president will veto this Wednesday. Section 1904(b) of the supplemental appropriations bill for the Pentagon, H.R. 1591, passed by the House and Senate, mandates that the secretary of...

Democrats' Timetable Allows U.S. War in Sunni Region to Go On

"The language on a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq voted out of the House-Senate conference committee this week contains large loopholes that would apparently allow U.S. troops to continue carrying out military operations in Iraq's Sunni heartland indefinitely. The...

How Congress can end the war without hurting the troops

"April 2, 2007 | WASHINGTON -- Many Americans remember the tragic deaths of U.S. troops in Somalia in the early 1990s, vividly portrayed in the movie "Blackhawk Down." Those 18 service members died in a misguided, poorly defined military mission that had dragged on without an...

NYT OpEd: The Purse Isn't Congress's Only Weapon

"Op-Ed Contributor The Purse Isn’t Congress’s Only Weapon * E-Mail * Print * Save * Share o Digg o Facebook o Newsvine o Permalink Article Tools Sponsored By By WALTER DELLINGER and CHRISTOPHER...

Town all set to go loco!

"Work to turn Darlington's historic Railway Centre & Museum into a world-class visitor attraction is expected to get underway after Easter. Funding for the £1.7 million refurbishment of the Grade II listed Victorian station - home of the world's first passenger railway,...

Court says Israel must register same-sex marriages

"The ruling, which affects those wed abroad, reignites a debate over gay rights. The Israeli Supreme Court touched off a fresh controversy over gay rights Tuesday when it ordered the government to register same-sex marriages performed abroad. The ruling by a seven-judge...