An attack against Iran with the aim of regime change is only a matter of time, according to Takis Fotopoulos. The only real issue being the timing and the form of attack. Why? Because an attack against Iran is the next phase of the strategic plan to redraw the political map of the Middle East, a plan which began at the beginning of the 1990s with the Gulf war –which set the foundations for the final regime change in Iraq—and continued with the invasion of Afghanistan.

Did I hear that word again (communist)? The comment/accusation was directed at the Timorese Prime Minister Alkatiri during an Oz ‘newscast’ – certainly puts an interesting slant on the Timor situation! I was reminded of the emerging independence of the Congo and the short life of its charismatic leader, Patrice Lumumba. The intervention of the CIA and the subsequent assassination of Patrice were entirely ‘coincidental’ events!

It seems to be a far right and left wing sport these days to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States. One group wants an amendment against burning the flag. Another wants an amendment banning the word God, or any reference to religion or prayer on government property. Yet another wants to get on the band wagon to ban marriage between various groups and sexual orientations. And still another wants to constitutionally legislate the reproductive rights of women. If there is anything one dislikes, the way to solve the problem is to pass a Constitutional amendment banning it. That'll teach 'em!

This link provides a long list of articles that are part of the propaganda campaign against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (2005 - 2006).

AltPress E-Newsletter No 16 April 2006
By Alternative Press Center

The Alternative Press Center's "Picks of the Month!" Links to articles on New Orleans by Mike Davis & Daisy Hernandez, the politics of abortion, a critique of the Millennium Development Goal by Samir Amin, Saudi Arabian oil & USA, Israeli conscientious objector Uri Nathan, the Internet & the gay community, and rap music in Canada.

International relations scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt published a critique of the Israel lobby in 'The London Review of Books' March 23, 2006. In "The Israel Lobby," Mearsheimer and Walt argued that a wide-ranging coalition including neoconservatives, Christian Zionists, leading journalists and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) exerts a "stranglehold" on US Middle East policy and public debate on the issue. While supporting the moral cause for the existence of Israel, Mearsheimer and Walt argued there was neither a strategic nor a moral interest in the United States's siding so strongly with post-occupation Israel. Many US citizens believed the Iraq War was about oil, but "the war was motivated in good part by a desire to make Israel more secure," according to the authors. Philip Weiss reports on the response to the article which continues to resonate, and the background to its publication.

“Bush Praises Howard”, reads the headline on ninemsn ‘news’, 15 May ‘06. It is not often a response can be encapsulated in one word, PUKE, Puke, puke – whatever way you care to spell it!

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald spent more than half a day Friday at the offices of Patton Boggs, the law firm representing Karl Rove.

During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove with an indictment charging the embattled White House official with perjury and lying to investigators related to his role in the CIA leak case,