Common Dreams

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost as much as $2.4 trillion through the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said yesterday. The White House brushed off the analysis as "speculation."

Al Gore's campaign against global warming, for which he just received the Nobel Peace Prize, has encouraged many corporations to "go green" and become environmentally friendly. But do these companies deserve to be praised? And can we rely on corporations to lead the way on global warming?

The wise old Chinese proverb on who is to blame for repeat gullibility was famously mangled by our Embarrasser in Chief: "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you," Bush stammered, with that deer-in-the-headlights look.

I think nothing has higher priority than averting an attack on Iran, which I think will be accompanied by a further change in our way of governing here that in effect will convert us into what I would call a police state. By Daniel Ellsberg

Today's news shows a recognizable shock moment in the annals of a closing society. A very ordinary-looking American student — Andrew Meyer, 21, at the University of Florida - was tasered by police when he asked a question of Senator John Kerry about the impeachment of President George Bush.

My weekly column is in an Asian Pacific American paper, so I try to keep my remarks focused on issues of importance to Asian Pacific Americans.

Residents are fleeing Samarra city in the face of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and resistance groups.

A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court's approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.

A DePaul University professor who has drawn criticism for accusing some Jews of improperly using the legacy of the Holocaust agreed Wednesday to resign immediately "for everybody's sake."

A study released Monday called "The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources", conducted by the U.N.

According to opinion polls and interviews with political experts and voters, the U.S. population is more liberal than at any time in a generation, hungering to end the Iraq war, turn inward and use the federal government to solve problems at home. By Steven Thomma

VIENNA - Utopias have always inspired humankind — from the defence of enlightenment against religious fanaticism during the Middle Ages, to reconstruction after last century's wars, to the end of colonialism.

When a top U.S. commander in Iraq reported last week that attacks by Shiite militias with links to Iran had risen to 73 percent of all July attacks that had killed or wounded U.S.

Two months ago, I took a stand that changed my life forever. As a Soldier, a JVB Protective Service Agent, and a Sniper with the Army who had been in Iraq for a year (running over 250 combat missions), I refused to continue to be a part of the occupation. I regret nothing. This is my story.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey is not counted among the Iraq war dead. But he did die, when he came home. He committed suicide. by Amy Goodman

"There's an African proverb that says, 'If you want to go quick, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.' We have to go far quickly," former Vice President Al Gore told a packed, rapt house at the Benedict Music Tent Wednesday. By Sarah Gilman

Barbara Hilton said she had not gotten involved with CODEPINK until recently simply because she didn't like the color. But when she went to Washington, D.C. and saw the power the women-led grassroots peace and social justice group yielded she decided to learn more. By Gretyl Macalaster

British Researcher Finds Traces Years After Weapons Plant Closed. By Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

Noam Chomsky is one of the key figures on the American and global left. He is said to be one of the most widely quoted intellectuals in the world. In 2005, readers of AlterNet voted him MVP (Most Valuable Progressive). And he remains very close to many activists. By Wolfgang Brauner

Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached. By James Hohmann

Does a defendant's background matter for sentencing purposes? President Bush apparently thinks that it does, because he cited Scooter Libby's background and service to his country as a reason to commute his sentence. I agree. y Shannon Hall

A long-awaited international convention against nuclear terrorism will come into force next week, nine years after it was originally proposed by Russia and 10 months after it was adopted by the 192-member General Assembly. By Thalif Deen

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

If Rupert Murdoch were the Angel Gabriel, you still wouldn't want him owning the sun, the moon, and the stars. That's too much prime real estate for even the pure in heart. By Bill Moyers

Ten years ago, Erik Prince, the son of a conservative multi-millionaire, founded the security consulting firm Blackwater USA.The company has since grown into what journalist Jeremy Scahill terms "the world's most powerful mercenary army," in his recently released book titled "Blackwater." By Bill Be

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating allegations of bribery by the British defense contractor BAE Systems to Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, a high-ranking member of the Saudi royal family with wide contacts and relations here. By Emad Mekay

Of the Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Mike Gravel is probably the least well recognized. His dark-horse candidacy may be the butt of jokes on the late-night comedy shows, but that doesn't faze former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg: "Here is a senator who was not afraid to look foolish.

We have yet another remarkable revelation of the mindset of Washington's ruling clique of neoconservative elites — the people who took us to war from the safety of their Beltway bunkers.

A media campaign portraying Iran as supplying arms to the Taliban guerrillas fighting U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, orchestrated by advocates of a more confrontational stance toward Iran in the George W.

The outcome of Saturday's referendum was never in doubt. Residents of this postcard village in the forested hills of central Bohemia voted 728-10 in favor of a resolution that directs the local municipal council to take all necessary steps to block the U.S.