However ambitious President Barack Obama’s domestic plans, one unacknowledged issue has the potential to destroy any reform efforts he might launch. Think of it as the 800-pound gorilla in the American living room: our longstanding reliance on imperialism and militarism in our relations with other countries and the vast, potentially ruinous global empire of bases that goes with it. The …

On June 30, US combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities and confined themselves to bases. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government declared it a major victory for the Iraqi people and his government, though the US troops are still seen moving around in the cities from which they withdrew in violation of the troop withdrawal agreement. Amidst a lull in combat …

CIA-Trained Security Chiefs Elected to the Palestinian Leadership “He is our guy.” George W. Bush speaking of Palestinian security chief Muhammad Dahlan, June 4, 2003 August 14, 2009 “Counterpunch” — The U.S. government has been meddling in the Palestinian internal affairs since at least 2003. Its effort is to transform the Palestinian national movement for liberation and independence into a …

The sight of dozens and dozens of Sri Lankan Muslim youth cheering the Pakistan team and celebrating its victory over Sri Lanka at the last two one-day matches was something that had disturbed quite a few in this country. When a prominent local Muslim politician was asked for his interpretation of this scenario, he quipped, “Yes it is quite disturbing. …

The following diagrams (courtesy of crescentmoonwatch.org) show the visibility of the new crescent Moon over the first three days of the lunation. The unshaded areas indicate regions from which the Moon cannot be seen. The Moon becomes more easily visible from the regions of increasing colour intensity i.e. the Moon will be seen easily from the regions shown in red. …

My new place in Hyderabad, India, is a little, two-story affair that looks rather large to us after spending seven years in a two-bedroom apartment in Dubai. It’s not great, but offers a rare view of the magnificent Golconda Fort built by the Qutub Shahis. When threatened by the Moghals, the last Qutub Shahi King Abulhassan Tana Shah withdrew himself …